NH Investment & Securities appointed Shin Jae-uk, head of the real estate infrastructure business division, and Bae Kwang-soo, head of the WM business division, as the final CEO candidates for a co-CEO structure. Incumbent NH Investment & Securities CEO Yoon Byung-woon failed to win another term.
According to the financial investment industry on the 12th, the Nominating Committee of NH Investment & Securities finalized two candidates on the shortlist for the next CEO. In the WM segment, managing director Bae Kwang-soo, head of the WM business division, was selected, and for institutional sales and the IB segment, senior managing director Shin Jae-uk, head of the IB2 business division, was selected.
CEO candidate Shin Jae-uk was recommended to oversee IB, asset management, wholesale, and companywide management. Shin is a corporate finance expert who has built extensive experience and a proven track record in NH Investment & Securities' core business areas. The Nominating Committee assessed that Shin is the right person to lead the company's mid- to long-term growth strategy, including expanding the IMA business, discovering new growth engines, and diversifying the revenue base, as well as to strengthen business competitiveness and advance the organizational operating system.
CEO candidate Bae Kwang-soo was recommended to oversee WM, digital, channels, and research. Bae is a wealth management expert who has led the expansion of the customer base and strengthened sales competitiveness in retail. The Nominating Committee evaluated Bae as the right person to bolster the company's wealth management competitiveness and to drive growth in the retail segment by advancing a customer-centric wealth management framework and innovating digital-based sales.
Incumbent CEO Yoon Byung-woon, who had been widely considered likely to serve another term, was not included on the shortlist.
Yoon delivered major management results, including record earnings since the company's founding, a first-quarter earnings surprise, and the launch of the integrated managed account (IMA) service, but failed to secure another term.
The stated reasons are the "transition to a co-CEO structure" and the "generation shift policy across NongHyup." NH Investment & Securities shifted from a single-CEO system to a co-CEO system by splitting the IB and WM segments. According to the industry, when forming the midlist, the Nominating Committee is said to have applied NongHyup-wide personnel renewal standards, such as the principle of "excluding personnel who retired more than two years ago," reflecting recommendations from the NongHyup Reform Committee.
However, within the industry, analysis emerged that despite significant results, Yoon's failure to win another term was the result of a top-down personnel intervention scenario by NongHyup Financial Group and the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation. When Yoon was first appointed in 2024, former vice chairman Yoo Chan-young, who was chosen by the holding company and the federation, was considered a strong candidate, but as the independence of the securities business was emphasized, conflicts surfaced between the federation and the securities arm.
There was no shortage of friction during this selection process as well. As the selection of the next CEO drifted for more than 100 days, internal turmoil erupted, including a wave of dismissals of internal executives from their posts and revelations that "there was pressure for Yoon to resign."
Meanwhile, NH Investment & Securities plans to operate a Strategic Resource Allocation Committee to increase synergy among business segments after transitioning to a co-CEO structure. It will integrate and manage key management decisions such as major investments and capital use from a companywide perspective and will clarify roles and responsibilities for matters requiring collaboration among segments.
An NH Investment & Securities official said, "At a time when the company is entering a new growth phase with initiatives such as pushing the IMA business, we decided to transition to a co-CEO structure to enhance expertise by business segment and strengthen responsible management," adding, "CEO Shin Jae-uk and CEO Bae Kwang-soo will further strengthen business competitiveness and lead the company's sustainable growth based on their expertise and experience."
NH Investment & Securities plans to proceed with the CEO appointment process at an extraordinary shareholders' meeting on June 30 after obtaining approval from an extraordinary board meeting.