Woori Bank CEO Cho Byung-kyu to step down at end of term amid loan scandal

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Woori Bank CEO Cho Byung-kyu to step down at end of term amid loan scandal

Published: 22 Nov. 2024, 17:42

SHIN HA-NEE
[email protected]

Woori Bank CEO Cho Byung-kyu attends a conference in central Seoul on June 19, following an uncovering of a major embezzlement case. [YONHAP]

Woori Bank CEO Cho Byung-kyu will step down when his current term ends on Dec. 31, as its board reportedly decided against reappointing the chief executive for another term following a major loan scandal.

The decision was made on Friday during a board meeting, according to media reports.

Woori Bank has been under fire after the Financial Supervisory Service uncovered in August that the bank granted 61.6 billion won ($44.2 million) in loans to borrowers with connections to former Woori Chairman Son Tae-seung, who held the top post from January 2019 to March of last year.

Of the total, 35 billion won was found to have been improperly granted without appropriate screening.

While Cho has not been directly involved in issuing the loans, he is currently under investigation for allegedly breaching reporting duties by delaying the notification to financial authorities about the improper practices.

Meanwhile, prosecutors sought an arrest warrant for the former chairman Son on Friday for an alleged breach of duty. Son has reportedly denied the allegation against him during a summoned investigation from Wednesday to Thursday.

BY SHIN HA-NEE [[email protected]]