Kang Tae-young, CEO candidate of NongHyup Bank / Yonhap

NongHyup Financial Group nominated Kang Tae-young, vice president of NH Capital, as the final candidate to lead its flagship affiliate NongHyup Bank, the group said Friday.

It also said that Park Byeong-hee, incumbent vice president of NongHyup Life Insurance, and Song Chun-soo, former vice president of NH Property and Casualty Insurance, were the sole CEO candidates of each respective company.

Fully owned by the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation, the group also nominated the federation's managing director Jang Jong-hwan to lead NH Capital.

Meanwhile, Kim Jang-seob, former vice president of NongHyup Life Insurance, was tapped to lead NH Savings Bank.

NH Venture Investment CEO Kim Hyun-jin was recommended to serve another term.

The six candidates will undergo a thorough screening by the group's executive recommendation committee or boards of directors this month to see if they are capable and qualified for the job. If approved, they will begin their term on Jan. 2.

Their nominations came as the current CEOs' terms for all six companies were set to expire on Dec. 31. But the group's executive recommendation committee had been delaying its decision in finalizing the candidates.

NongHyup Financial Group Chairman Lee Suk-joon / Korea Times file

The committee remains undecided over who will take the helm of the group, while NongHyup Financial Group Chairman Lee Suk-joon's two-year term will end this year.

According to industry sources, the country's fifth-largest financial holding company appears to be keeping a low profile due to its link to the current government, in the aftermath of the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol.

Sources pointed out that although the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation is a supposedly independent group, it in fact relies on the government's financial support in fulfilling its goal of representing the interests of individuals and enterprises in the agricultural industry.

NongHyup Financial Group typically nominates a pro-government candidate, usually recommended by the government or the ruling party, when the current chairman's term is about to end.

Lee was formerly Yoon's campaign chair in the March 2022 presidential election.

He later served as Yoon's special economic adviser before being appointed to lead NongHyup Financial Group in December 2022.

"Considering such a link between the government and National Agricultural Cooperative Federation, it makes sense why NongHyup Financial Group is especially keeping a low profile in selecting new leadership," a source said.

Shin Yul, a political science professor at Myongji University, said NongHyup Financial Group's move "is no surprise at a time when the incumbent government will only last for months," before the Constitutional Court finalizes its decision concerning Yoon's impeachment.

A source familiar with the executive recommendation committee said the new chairman candidate may be nominated soon.

The chairman of NongHyup Financial Group would usually be given an extended term. But Lee repeatedly expressed his intention to step down after his first term, holding himself responsible for a string of irregularities that plagued NongHyup Bank this year.