South Korea’s largest financial institution Shinhan Financial Group said it has selected Shinhan Bank CEO Cho Yong-byoung as the final candidate to be the next chairman of the group.

Cho was unanimously chosen by the seven members of the corporate governance and CEO recommendation committee among the three candidates, the group said in a statement. The other two candidates were Wi Sung-ho, the CEO of Shinhan Card, and Choi Bang-gil, the former CEO of Shinhan BNP Paribas Asset Management.

Shinhan Financial will hold a boardroom meeting on Friday and name Cho as the next chairman.

During the candidate interview, Wi chose not to seek the chairmanship and help Cho become the chairman instead, the group said.

Cho still needs approval at the general shareholders meeting in March to officially take over.

After taking office in early 2015, Cho led Shinhan Bank to maintain its No. 1 ranking in annual net profits among commercial lenders in the country. For the first time in the banking industry, Cho introduced flexible working hours at the bank.

“Cho seems to be the right person to manage such gigantic financial firm,” a high-ranking industry official who requested anonymity told The Korea Herald, prior to Shinhan’s announcement.

Born in Daejeon in 1957, Cho majored in law at Korea University and entered Shinhan Bank in 1984. He held various positions including the head of the bank’s New York branch, vice president in retail banking and CEO of Shinhan BNP Paribas Asset Management.

By Kim Yoon-mi (yoonmi@heraldcorp.com)