이 기사는 2021년 03월 25일 07시44분 thebell에 표출된 기사입니다

Global proxy advisers Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) and Glass Lewis are split on an agenda of reappointing Shinhan Financial Group’s directors at its upcoming shareholders meeting.

The world's largest proxy adviser ISS urged shareholders of Shinhan Financial Group to vote against the reappointment of Shinhan Bank CEO Jin Ok-dong, who was proposed to keep his job as a nonexecutive director for the group, and six outside directors at the shareholders meeting scheduled for Thursday, according to industry sources. Their term ends later this month. Glass Lewis sided with the financial group.

Uncertainties over the results have heightened as a majority of foreign shareholders follow the recommendations of ISS. Foreign shareholders own more than 60% stake in Shinhan Financial Group.

National Pension Service (NPS), the largest shareholder of Shinhan Financial Group with a 9.8% stake, hasn’t expressed any view on the agenda. The nation’s largest pension fund voted against Shinhan Financial Group Chairman Cho Yong-byoung’s second term as an inside director last year, citing he was responsible for undermining the corporate value.

At that time, the pension fund held its fiduciary responsibility committee meeting to decide how to exercise its voting rights before the company's shareholders' meeting.

“We have finished analyzing the report on Shinhan Financial but haven’t made a decision yet,” said an official at the NPS.

The ISS recommendation is based on the risk of corporate governance by failing to properly monitor the top management. The six outside directors all voted in favor of the reappointment of Cho last year.

ISS noted Jin is facing potential legal risks. He recently received a reprimand warning from the Financial Supervisory Service for poor supervision of the lender’s sales of troubled funds of scandal-ridden Lime Asset Management last year.

ISS recommended last year to vote against a term extension for Cho as he was handed down a suspended six-month jail term by a lower court over his alleged role in Shinhan Bank’s recruiting scandal.

“Despite the ISS recommendation, Japanese shareholders of Shinhan Financial Group supported Cho to be reappointed for another term last year,” said an industry source. “But the situation may change this year because the financial group has new shareholders including global private equity firms.” (Reporting by Hyun-ji Son)