Shinhan Bank, Shinhan Card and Shinhan Capital are the first components of the Shinhan financial empire to be investigated by the Korean Financial Supervisory Service for hiring the sons and daughters of executives in contravention of the rules.

The regulators began investigating last month and have reportedly found 22 cases of 'hiring abuse.' Yonhap News reported that the financial firm hired 13 people to occupy the lowest rung of the ladder in 2013 and that they were disqualified during the hiring process. Five of them were the offspring of the bank's executives and the rest were the offspring of government officials. The affair has caused a stir in South Korea, where youth unemployment stands at 10%.