EXHIBIT 12.1

                                 CERTIFICATIONS


     I, In Ho Lee, certify that:

          1.   I have reviewed this annual report on Form 20-F of Shinhan
               Financial Group (the "Company");

          2.   Based on my knowledge, this Annual Report does not contain any
               untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material
               fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the
               circumstances under which such statements were made, not
               misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;

          3.   Based on my knowledge, the consolidated financial statements, and
               other financial information included in this report, fairly
               present in all material respects the financial condition, results
               of operations and cash flows of the Company as of, and for, the
               periods presented in this report;

          4.   The Company's other certifying officer(s) and I are responsible
               for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and
               procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and
               15d-15(e)) and internal control over financial reporting (as
               defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) for the
               Company and have:

               (a)  Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused
                    such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under
                    our supervision, to ensure that material information
                    relating to the Company, including its consolidated
                    subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those
                    entities, particularly during the period in which this
                    report is being prepared;

               (b)  Designed such internal control over financial reporting, or
                    caused such internal control over financial reporting to be
                    designed under our supervision, to provide reasonable
                    assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting
                    and the preparation of financial statements for external
                    purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting
                    principles;

               (c)  Evaluated the effectiveness of the Company's disclosure
                    controls and procedures and presented in this report our
                    conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure
                    controls and procedures, as of the end of the period covered
                    by this report based on such evaluation; and

               (d)  Disclosed in this report any change in the Company's
                    internal control over financial reporting that occurred
                    during the period covered by the Annual Report that has
                    materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially
                    affect, the Company's internal control over financial
                    reporting.

          5.   The Company's other certifying officer(s) and I, as certifying
               officers of the Company, have disclosed, based on our most recent
               evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to the
               Company's auditors and the audit committee of the Company's board
               of directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions):

               (a)  All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the
                    design or operation of internal control over financial
                    reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect
                    the Company's ability to record, process, summarize and
                    report financial information; and

               (b)  Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management
                    or other employees who have a significant role in the
                    Company's internal control over financial reporting.

Date: June 30, 2008

                                  By: /s/ In Ho Lee
                                      ------------------------------------------
                                      Name:  In Ho Lee
                                      Title: President & Chief Executive Officer

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