First two bank holding company reappointments, approval rates 66.1% and 56.4%... below improvement plan standards

South Korea’s Financial Services Commission disclosed that of 14 shareholder votes on chairman appointments and reappointments at the four major financial holding companies between 2017 and 2026, three fell short of a two-thirds approval threshold, including two first-reappointment cases—both from 2020, with approval rates of 66.1% and 56.4%—that would fail under the governance reform plan unveiled on the 12th. The remaining case, an initial appointment with 60.4% support, is subject to different criteria and does not count as a missed reappointment threshold. The plan requires majority support of votes cast plus at least a quarter of total issued shares for initial appointments, and two-thirds of votes cast plus at least a third of issued shares for first reappointments. The disclosure matters because it shows that past bank holding company chairman reappointments would not have cleared the proposed bar, signaling tighter shareholder-approval standards ahead. What to watch next is whether the FSC’s plan is finalized with these thresholds intact and how upcoming chairman votes at the financial holding companies are calibrated against them.