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| Seen above are office buildings in Seoul's financial district of Yeouido. gettyimagesbank |
By Lee Min-hyung
Securities firms are set to prioritize the appointment of female outside directors during their regular shareholders' meetings this month, in a move to enhance their environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) management. The ratio of females on boards, however, still falls short of the average of other industries.
According to the securities industry, major brokerage houses will start holding the meetings later this week. A reshuffle of top management used to top the agenda, but this will no longer be the case this year, as most securities firms decided to focus on ensuring stability in this period of financial uncertainty.
Meritz Securities, which rose as the nation's most profitable securities firm last year, plans to appoint its first female outside director, Yang Jae-seon, who is currently working as a lawyer at Yulchon. She is also taking on a role as an independent director at Meritz Asset Management. She holds expertise in handling legal finance tasks, and worked as an in-house lawyer at Citibank Korea between 2005 and 2021.
Shinhan Securities is scheduled to appoint Joo So-hyun, a professor of consumer studies at Ewha Womans University, as the new outside director. She has also worked as a former chief of the Korean Academy of Financial Consumers. The Shinhan affiliate decided to appoint Joo to the position in recognition of her consumer protection efforts in the financial industry.
Daishin Securities, another mid-tier brokerage firm here, is also moving to invite Cho Sun-young, chairwoman of Kwangwoon Foundation, as its new female outside director during its upcoming regular shareholders' meeting on March 24.
"Most securities firms here place their 2023 management focus on tightening stability, rather than taking risks for business expansion, as the stock market sentiment remains unfavorable amid steep rate hikes," an industry source said. "Despite the business uncertainty, they are stepping up ESG management efforts amid the ever-growing importance of transparent management in the financial industry."
According to CEO Score, a corporate data research firm, six out of the country's 13 major securities companies had at least one woman on their board as of the end of the last year. They are Mirae Asset, NH, Samsung, Kiwoom, Daishin and Hanwha. Women accounted for 9 percent of the total 76 board members of the 13 brokerages, which is an improvement from 2019 when 3 percent of boards were women. Securities companies have been increasing women on their boards following a revision of the Capital Markets Act which requires listed companies with at least 2 trillion won ($1.5 billion) in assets to avoid their boards representing only a single gender.
Meanwhile, some of the brokerage houses are set to carry out drastic leadership reshuffles during their upcoming shareholders' meetings. Hahn Doo-hee, CEO-nominee of Hanwha Investment & Securities, will take office after receiving approval at the shareholders' meeting. Daol Investment & Securities is also set to conduct a shakeup of top management, with Hwang Joon-ho, president at Daol Savings Bank, ready to be appointed as the former's new chief.
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