Shinhan Card CEO Park Chang-hun has apologized to employees for poor performance and internal incidents, declaring emergency management and pledging that executives would return their performance bonuses.
According to financial industry sources on Tuesday, Park sent an email to employees titled "A Resolute Declaration for the Future of Shinhan Card" that morning.
"The recent poor performance and a series of incidents our company has faced are failures stemming from the management's shortcomings," Park said. "I humbly acknowledge this and sincerely apologize." He added, "We will revive the company with a spirit of accountability and restore Shinhan Card's pride."
The message came as the company faces a combination of slowing earnings and internal control issues. Shinhan Card posted net profit of 476.7 billion won ($352 million) last year, down 16.7% from the previous year. Personal data breaches and other incidents have compounded the situation, increasing the need to restore trust across the organization.
Park said the management team would take direct responsibility for the results. "If management performance bonuses are not paid due to poor results, executives will also return their short-term bonuses," he said. He also expressed his commitment to accountable management, including mandating that all approval documents carry the statement: "The final approver takes responsibility for the outcome."
Park said executives would "relinquish their privileges" by reducing benefits afforded to them. "We will downsize executive offices, which have been symbols of authority, and implement various cost-cutting measures," he said. "We will also review from scratch any benefits where there is a gap between executives and employees."
"If we unite and pour all our energy together, the current hardship will surely become an opportunity for an even greater leap forward," Park said. "Let us focus on fundamentals and boldly march toward a better future for Shinhan Card." He added, "To ensure this resolute declaration does not become an empty promise, the management team will lead by action from the very front and take responsibility for results until the very end."
