Ham nominated to be chairman of Hana Financial Group

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Ham nominated to be chairman of Hana Financial Group

Ham Young-joo [HANA FINANCIAL GROUP]

Ham Young-joo [HANA FINANCIAL GROUP]

 
Ham Young-joo, 66, has been nominated by a board committee to be the next chairman of Hana Financial Group. If confirmed, he will replace Kim Jung-tai, who was company chairman since March 2012.  
 
Ham is one of three vice chairmen at Hana Financial Group. He oversees ESG practices.  
 
Ham was the sole candidate nominated for the three-year chairmanship at a meeting held by a committee of external directors on Tuesday.  
 
Four others made it to the preliminary list of candidates for the post, including Hana Bank President Park Sung-ho and Hana Capital CEO Yoon Kyu-seon.  
 
"Ham made achievements in terms of stability and profitability, and has shown amicable and excellent leadership," the committee said in a statement. The committee said he was "the right person for the position and can preemptively lead for a future that is changing rapidly as a result of the digital transformation."
 
If approved by the shareholders, Ham will be named the chairman next month.  
 
Born in 1956 in Buyeo in South Chungcheong, Ham graduated from a commercial high school in Nonsan in South Chungcheong and started working at Seoul Bank in 1980 with a high school degree. He studied accounting at a night school at Dankook University.  
 
Ham became branch managers at multiple Hana Bank locations after Hana Bank acquired Seoul Bank in 2002. He was the bank's first president after Hana Bank merged with Korea Exchange Bank in 2015 and became a Hana Financial Group vice chairman in 2016.  
 
Ham faces several legal issues.  
 
He is being tried for alleged involvement in hiring irregularities that took place when he was the bank president. The prosecution earlier demanded a three-year jail term and a five million won ($4,200) fine. The ruling will be made on Feb. 25.  
 
Ham received a reprimand in 2020 from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) over the failure to fulfill his duties to prevent losses related to derivative-linked funds (DLFs). The punishment will be disclosed on Feb. 16.  
 
Shinhan Financial Group Chairman Cho Yong-byoung, who was indicted in 2018 on charges of corrupt hiring practices, won an appeal in November. A request by Woori Financial Group Chairman Son Tae-seung for the cancellation of a reprimand the FSS imposed on him over the improper selling of DLFs was accepted by the Seoul Administrative Court in August.  
 
 
 

BY JIN MIN-JI [jin.minji@joongang.co.kr]
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