Kim Jung-tai, chairman of Hana Financial Group, has been honored by a local association of business management scholars for his negotiation skills, the group said Sunday.
Kim, who has been serving at the helm of Hana Financial since March 2012 after a five-year stint as vice chairman, won the top prize given by the Korean Association of Negotiation Studies as this year’s most recognizable negotiator.
He is credited for successfully spearheading the postmerger integration of Hana Bank and Korea Exchange Bank, which resulted in the industry’s new leader, KEB Hana Bank. The united entity, with assets of 298.8 trillion won ($254.8 billion), was launched in September, more than three years after Hana acquired a controlling stake in KEB in January 2012.
By Lee Sun-young
(milaya@heraldcorp.com)