Caption: Chairman Ham Young-ju of Hana Financial Group.
Chairman Ham Young-ju of Hana Financial Group, who was subjected to disciplinary action by financial authorities due to losses from overseas interest rate-linked derivative combined funds (DLF), has won a final court ruling canceling the disciplinary action in an administrative lawsuit.
According to the financial and legal sectors on the 25th, Chairman Ham won a final victory in the DLF administrative lawsuit related to a rejection decision by the Supreme Court. A rejection decision means a system where a court does not review cases deemed not subject to an appeal and dismisses the appeal without further trial.
The Financial Supervisory Service attributed the 2020 DLF loss crisis to the lack of proper internal control systems at Hana Bank, where Chairman Ham served as the bank’s chief at the time. The Financial Authorities imposed a disciplinary warning on Chairman Ham, which is equivalent to disciplinary action. If someone receives disciplinary action from financial authorities, they are unable to re-enter the financial industry for 3 to 5 years after the end of their term. Chairman Ham’s side opposed this and filed an administrative lawsuit against the Financial Services Commission chairman and others.
In 2022, the Seoul Administrative Court ruled against Chairman Ham in his cancellation lawsuit. The court determined that he violated 7 out of 10 detailed items related to the CEO’s obligation to establish internal control.
However, in the appeal court for the disciplinary cancellation lawsuit held in February, the court ruled in favor of some of the plaintiffs. Regarding the violation of the obligation to establish internal control standards, a key reason for the disciplinary action, the court only acknowledged 2 out of 8 detailed reasons for sanctions. Despite appeals from the Financial Services Commission and the Financial Supervisory Service, the Supreme Court finalizes the rejection of the plaintiff’s appeal in this case.
A Hana Financial Group official expressed respect and gratitude for the Supreme Court’s judgment, stating that they will make every effort to ensure that the group’s internal controls operate more effectively in the future.