New owners of South Korea’s Woori Bank on Tuesday nominated five outside directors including Shin Sang-hoon, former president of Shinhan Financial Group, for the bank as part of the privatization of the state-owned bank. 51.06 percent Woori Bank shares held by Korea Deposit Insurance Corp

Last month, seven financial companies - Korea Investment & Securities Co., Kiwoom Securities Co., IMM Private Equity Inc., Hanwha Life Insurance Co., China’s Anbang Insurance-owned Tong Yang Life Insurance Co., Mirae Asset Global Investments Co., and Eugene Investment and Securities Co. - were chosen by the Financial Services Commission and the state-run Korea Deposit Insurance Corporation as buyers of Woori Bank’s stakes in splinter. The new stakeholders who own stakes ranging from 4 to 8 percent, each, or a combined 29.7 percent stake of 51.06 percent Woori Bank stake held by Korea Deposit Insurance, were entitled to recommend an outside director. Of the seven buyers, five have made nominations while Mirae Asset Global Investments and Eugene Investment and Securities decided not to exercise their recommendation rights.

Korea Investment & Securities nominated Shin, former president of Shinhan Financial Group, while Kiwoom Securities recommended Park Sang-yong, professor at Yonsei University. Chang Dong-woo, chief executive and co-founder of IMM Investment Corp., was nominated by IMM Private Equity; Ro Sung-tae, former advisor at Hanwha Life Economic Research Institute by Hanwha Life Insurance; and a financial specialist in China by Tong Yang Life Insurance.

Once the nominations of outside directors are approved, Woori Bank is expected to form an executive recommendation committee with the directors to name its president.

The country’s financial authority plans to hold a public fund oversight committee meeting after new stake owners complete their stake purchasing payment next week and cancel the memorandum of understanding that has been previously signed by the bank’s largest shareholder Korea Deposit Insurance and Woori Bank to normalize the bank’s business. Korea Deposit Insurance Corporation, however, will still attend the temporary shareholders meeting on December 30 as the previous largest shareholder to appoint outside directors. The government and the deposit corporation will then after no longer be officially involved in Woori Bank management.

By Park Joon-hyung and Hong Jang-won

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