“I went through the board of directors and stockholders meeting, but it was a problem
Does the CEO change every time the government changes?”
Individual shareholders “risk of falling stock prices”
Businesses are protesting that excessive management intervention by the National Pension Service can prolong corporate management vacuum and reduce corporate value. An official from the business world pointed out, “The National Pension Service emphasizes the exercise of shareholder rights, but from the perspective of other investors, the risk that the CEO of each company can be replaced at any time increases.”
Active reorganization and personnel management of KT and POSCO, which were targeted by the National Pension Service, were virtually suspended. It is known that KT originally planned to complete organizational reorganization and personnel reshuffling within the year on the premise of CEO Koo Hyun-mo’s reappointment. However, as the question of whether or not to extend the term has become a subject of controversy, it is falling into a situation of ‘lack of leadership’ in which CEOs and executives of affiliates are delayed. Active investment judgment or decision-making is inevitably difficult. A KT official said, “I can’t help but recall that most of the heads of the company walked the path of dishonorable resignation after privatization 20 years ago.” said.
Posco Group Chairman Choi Jeong-woo, whose second term was confirmed in March, is also receiving calls for resignation from political circles and civic groups regardless of the decision of the board of directors. Former CEOs of the POSCO Group, which was privatized in 2000, resigned without exception whenever the government was replaced. The largest shareholder of POSCO Holdings, the holding company of the POSCO Group, is the National Pension Service, which holds an 8.5% stake.
On the 27th, Chairman Choi carried out only a small personnel reshuffle by replacing the presidents of two major affiliates, and postponed the follow-up regular executive personnel to January next year. Externally, it is explained that Pohang Steelworks is recovering from typhoon damage, but insiders say that “the draft toward Chairman Choi is not fading, and it is not an environment for active greetings.”
Financial groups are also worried. The National Pension Service is the largest shareholder of KB Financial Group (7.94%), Shinhan Financial Group (8.49%) and Hana Financial Group (8.4%), and is also the second largest shareholder of Woori Financial Group (7.86%) and BNK Financial Group (9.19%). In particular, the inside of Woori Financial is in a state of great confusion as the government expressed negative opinions about the reappointment of Woori Financial Group Chairman Son Tae-seung, whose term ends in March next year. Normally, in the last year of the chairman’s term, the Executive Candidate Recommendation Committee decides whether to reappoint or replace the chairman, and the Subsidiary Representative Director Candidate Recommendation Committee is held to decide the CEO of the affiliate. However, as Chairman Sohn’s decision to move forward has been postponed to January next year, the timing of the appointment committee has been delayed. Among the four major financial holding companies in Korea, Woori Financial Group is the only one that has not finalized the CEO appointment of its subsidiaries.
A high-ranking official in the financial sector pointed out, “As economic uncertainty is expected to increase next year, it is not enough to prepare a team to respond as soon as possible, but there are concerns about a decline in corporate value due to a leadership vacuum.”
Reporters Lee Sang-eun/Kang Kyung-min/Park Sang-yong [email protected]