Woori Finance Holdings Co., Korea's top financial group, drew four candidates for its chairmanship, including the current chairman deemed highly likely to serve another term, financial sources said Wednesday.

Woori Finance Chairman Lee Pal-seung applied for the top post and is seen as the most powerful candidate for the chairmanship amid ongoing government efforts to put the company in private hands, the sources said.

The group did not identify the four people, but Kim Woo-suk, a former finance ministry official and president of the state-owned Korea Asset Management Corp., has also reportedly applied.

The deadline for the application closed at 5 p.m. on Wednesday. Lee's three-year term ends in late March.

Former Finance Minister Kang Man-soo, currently serving as senior economic adviser to President Lee Myung-bak, reportedly failed to apply for the post despite widespread speculation he would seek the chairmanship.

The company’s chairman recommendation committee is seeking to pick a single candidate by the end of this month. Shareholders are scheduled to hold a meeting on March 25 to approve the nominee.

The selection process comes at a critical time when the much-anticipated sale of Woori Finance has been suspended due to bid withdrawal from strong candidates. (Yonhap News)