Citibank Korea, the local branch of New York-based Citigroup, on Friday recommended current CEO Park Jin-hei as the sole candidate for the next term, officials said.

Park is to assume his second term in office once his candidacy is confirmed at meetings of the board of directors and stockholders, both slated for next Wednesday.

The top official joined Citibank Korea in 1984, after graduating from Seoul National University and working at the Korea Development Institute.

Since taking office as CEO in 2014, Park has steered a business restructuring blueprint, seeking for the downsizing of conventional bank offices and the reinforcement of asset management functions as a more lucrative alternative.

His initial plan to close down 101 offices within the year triggered labor-management disputes and was later compromised by reducing the number to 90.

The bank’s net profit as of the end of June this year stood at 117.1 billion won ($103 million), up 26.9 percent from the same period last year.

By Bae Hyun-jung (tellme@heraldcorp.com)