NH Savings Bank has appointed Kang Shin-myeong, a former commissioner general of the Korean National Police Agency who was convicted of political interference, as an outside director and audit committee member.
According to financial industry sources on Tuesday, NH Savings Bank named Kang as a new outside director and audit committee member on November 1. His term runs until April 30, 2028.
Some critics argue that appointing a figure previously convicted of political interference as an audit committee member is inappropriate. Kang was charged with systematically intervening in the 2016 general elections, working with the presidential office's political affairs secretariat to help candidates from the pro-Park Geun-hye faction win. At the time, Kang is said to have mobilized the national intelligence police network, centered on the intelligence bureau command line of the Korean National Police Agency, to collect information on electoral trends and report it to the presidential office.
In March 2024, the Supreme Court handed down a final sentence of one year and two months in prison, suspended for two years, on these charges. On separate charges of surveilling anti-government forces for four years starting in 2012, he received a final sentence of four months in prison, suspended for two years.
Kang had his sentence nullified and his rights restored through a Liberation Day special pardon in 2024. He currently also serves as an adviser to Kyungrim Tech, a cable manufacturer.
NH Savings Bank said, "Outside director Kang Shin-myeong holds a degree in law and a master's degree in judicial administration, along with experience as a police official, meeting the requirements for outside directors as stipulated by law."
