Woori Bank names Lee Soon-woo CEO

The bank’s selection committee chose its vice-president to help acceleration of bank’s stalled privatization.

Woori Finance Holdings Co., South Korea's No. 2 banking group, said Tuesday it picked the vice president of Woori Bank as the new chief executive officer of the group's flagship banking unit.

The state-run financial services company said its seven-member special president selection committee selected Lee Soon-woo, 61, to lead South Korea's second-largest lender for three years.

Woori Bank is currently headed by Lee Chong-hwi, whose three-year term ends in late March.

The selection comes after incumbent group chairman Lee Pal-seung was named to be at the helm for another three years in an effort to help accelerate the stalled privatization of the state-run banking group.

Shareholders are scheduled to meet on Thursday to give the final nod to the nomination of the new CEO.

The group also nominated Song Ki-jin, the current president of Kwangju Bank, to lead the regional bank unit for another term and Park Young-been, acting president of Kyongnam Bank, as the regional lender's head.

View the full story in Korea Herald.