Group completes KEB takeover payment to Lone Star and Korea EximbankHana Financial Group chairman Kim Seung-yu confirmed his earlier stance that he will step down from his post.
Kim reiterated his willingness to resign during a meeting with reporters right after he participated the financial group’s board meeting on future management policies on Thursday.
“We (executives) gave up persuading chairman Kim to serve one more term,” a senior executive also said, adding that the chairman has not reversed his earlier position at the board meeting.
Kim has been in charge of the post of Hana Bank CEO or Hana Financial chairman since 1997.
Kim has pledged to ensure the job security of about 8,000 KEB employees. During a news conference last December, Kim downplayed the possibility that Hana will conduct a massive manpower restructuring after the merger.
As a result, Hana Financial has launched procedures to select Kim’s successor by the end of this month. Kim’s term expires at the end of March.
Strong candidates included Hana Bank CEO Kim Jung-tae and Hana Financial vice chairman Yun Yong-ro.
Yun has already been nominated as CEO of Korea Exchange Bank, which will be a unit of Hana Financial.
On the same day, the financial group completed its payment for acquisition of KEB to U.S.-based Lone Star Funds (51.02 percent stake in KEB) and the Export-Import Bank of Korea (6.25 percent).
Its move comes as U.S. financial regulators approved Hana Financial’s takeover of KEB’s American operations.
The U.S. Federal Reserve Board endorsed the deal between Hana and Lone Star to trade KEB’s units in New York City and Los Angeles.
Korea’s regulator, the Financial Services Commission, approved the deal to trade KEB’s local operations in January.
Despite the development in the merger project between Hana and KEB, uncertainties still persist as a series of lawsuits and complaints against the FSC have already been filed with courts and the prosecution.
Court trials on Lone Star’s shareholder eligibility to control KEB since 2003 remain underway. The latest trial was held Feb. 1.
The prosecution is investigating the allegations that senior regulatory officials including FSC chairman Kim Seok-dong sought to conceal key documents on the U.S. equity fund.
In addition, the Board of Audit and Inspection has been conducting an intensive investigation into the FSC and the Financial Supervisory Service, an executive arm of the FSC.
The state auditor is scheduled to carry out the audit on the two regulators by Feb. 24.
A group of lawmakers continued to call for the BAI to investigate allegations that Lone Star was a non-financial investor, which is banned from owning a Korean bank under the laws.
Therefore, the deal between Hana and Lone Star was also originally “not valid,” the lawmakers and the KEB union argued.
By Kim Yon-se (
kys@heraldcorp.com)
