Woori Finance nominates Lee Pal-seung for another term

Changing Lee could make matters worse for Woori, which is in the process of divesting 57% of its shares for privatization.

South Korea's Woori Finance Holdings Co. said Tuesday that its chairman-selection committee has nominated Chairman and Chief Executive Lee Pal-seung for another term as the government seeks to restart the privatization of the lender.

Lee was widely expected to be retained by Woori as a change in leadership could have added another problem to the government's efforts to divest its 57% stake in the lender. Seoul was forced to halt the sale of the stake late last year due to lack of competitive bids, and Lee has continued to stress the importance of having Woori privatized as quickly as possible.

"Lee took active steps to assist the government's privatization efforts last year, including the formation of (two consortia of investors)," Woori committee head Oh Jong-nam told reporters during a briefing, referring to a group of bidders led by Woori employees and another consisting of key Woori corporate clients that submitted an initial bid for the government's stake. "The committee thought highly of these actions."

Oh also said the committee believes Lee's experience in guiding Woori through the global financial crisis and his expertise in various aspects of the financial sector will serve Woori well.

View the full story in The Wall Street Journal.