Chairman Han Dong-woo of Shinhan Financial Group won the Financial Achievement Award for his meritorious achievement in the financial industry during his long career spanning more than four decades.
Chairman Han was given credit for building a global financial network linking 161 overseas branches and subsidiaries in various countries in Asia, including China, Europe and North America, the United States in particular, and the introduction of an advanced management system for the group and its affiliates to make the group a leading corporation in Korea and throughout Asia.
Since joining the financial group back in 1982, Han has held a string of high positions, including manager of research and personnel. In 1989, he moved to Shinhan Life to launch the life insurance company.
He was promoted to CEO of the life insurance affiliate in 2002 and then to vice chairman in the ensuing years. He was credited with having the life insurance firm turn its operation around and generate profits, successfully bringing the life insurance firm into the fold as an affiliate of the financial group in 2005.
In 2011, he took over the management of the group as chairman and CEO, and settled the aftermath of the rift between former Chairman Ra Woong-chan and President Shin Sang-hoon, resulting in both top executives resigning from their posts.
Chairman Han ran the group so well that it turned in profit every year under his watch. This year, too, the results up until the third quarter amounted to around 2 trillion won net profit, a great record for the group.
Han singled out three areas for the outstanding record, including balanced growth in loan provisions, improvement in the non-banking affiliates performance results and excellent risk management.
He also noted the successful global advancement in operation, which expanded to 20 countries and 161 outlets, including branches and wholly-owned local subsidiaries from 14 countries and 66 banking outlets when he took over in 2011.
He said he led the group to focus its operation in the Asia-Pacific region, whose financial sector has been expanding rapidly, knowing that Korea’s domestic financial market has been saturated and there is no room for expansion. Since 2010, the group’s overseas assets have increased 69 percent.
Han steered the group to improving its overseas operation, knowing that the domestic financial market had limited room for expansion. He focused on Asian countries whose financial markets had been developing fast. He cited Vietnam as a country the group enjoyed the most success in through its wholly-owned local subsidiary.
The Vietnamese subsidiary’s customers are mostly local people, making up around 83.7 percent, a remarkable sample of success for a Korean bank’s overseas operation.
Han has also been credited for building an advanced management system to run the group, which has been successful thus far and good enough to be a model for other financial groups in Korea. In particular, it’s been a model for top managers and CEOs since he took over the management of the group as chairman.
Shinhan Financial Group Co., Ltd. provides commercial and consumer banking related financial and investment services. It operates through the following divisions: retail, corporate and investment banking, credit card, wealth management, brokerage and insurance. The company was founded on Sept. 1, 2001 and is headquartered in Seoul, South Korea.
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A view of the building near South Gate in Seoul where the Shinhan Financial Group has offices.(Photos: SFG)
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