Political Drive to Distribute Earnings Lowers South Korean Bank Shares

The share prices of South Korea's largest financial organizations fell on Thursday as investors viewed the president's appeal to share more profits with society as the heaviest political pressure in years.

Such pressure stems from a lack of comprehension of how the financial industry operates, bank executives said Reuters under the condition of anonymity for fear of negative repercussions on their employment.

The head of a mid-sized lender stated, "The remarks demonstrate that there is a strong notion in this country that banks are public entities and are based on a lack of information about how banks operate."

In early Thursday trading, shares of KB Financial Group Inc and Shinhan Financial Group Co (NYSE:SHG) Ltd plummeted more than 1% after their American depositary receipts dropped more than 5% in New York on Wednesday.

Lee Byung-gun, head of research at DB Financial Investment, remarked, "The government's message is that banks are generating rising profits and must provide more for society." This is not favorable for banking stocks in the foreseeable future.

President Yoon Suk-yeol, whose approval ratings have lingered around half of disapproval ratings in key opinion polls, stated on Wednesday that lenders must "voluntarily contribute" in sharing the suffering of vulnerable individuals.

Yoon's remark followed - but made no reference to - recent local media reports that large banks paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to workers for early retirement.

A government statement issued in conjunction with a meeting where Yoon made the remark revealed that the aggregate net profit of banks reached $14.68 billion in 2022, up from $16.68 billion in 2021.