KB Financial Group Recommends Former IBK Bank President Kwon Seon-ju and Professor Oh Kyu-taek as New Outside Director Candidates

Expansion to 2 Female Outside Directors Among 7 at March Regular Shareholders' Meeting
Expected to Be the First Case of 2 Female Outside Directors Serving Concurrently at a Domestic Financial Holding Company

[Asia Economy Reporter Kangwook Cho] KB Financial Group held the Outside Director Candidate Recommendation Committee (hereinafter 'Nomination Committee') on the 25th and resolved an agenda to recommend former Industrial Bank of Korea President Kwon Seon-ju and Professor Oh Kyu-taek of Chung-Ang University College of Business and Economics as new outside director candidates with a two-year term, after qualification verification in accordance with related laws such as the 'Commercial Act' and the 'Act on the Corporate Governance of Financial Companies.' It also recommended four existing outside directors?Stuart Solomon, Sunwoo Seokho, Choi Myung-hee, and Jung Gu-hwan?as candidates for reappointment with a one-year term to the general shareholders' meeting.

Kwon Seon-ju, Former President of Industrial Bank of Korea

Candidate Kwon is an expert in financial management who served as head of the Risk Management Headquarters and head of the Financial Consumer Protection Center at Industrial Bank of Korea, becoming the first female bank president in Korea. Candidate Oh is a certified public accountant and professor at Chung-Ang University College of Business and Economics, who has served as an outside director at Moa Savings Bank and Kiwoom Securities, and has experience as a member of the Public Fund Committee, making him an expert in finance and accounting.

The KB Financial Group Nomination Committee began the process in December last year to select successors for outside directors Yoo Seok-ryeol and Park Jae-ha, whose five-year terms are expiring. The outside director candidate recommendation process at KB Financial consists of three stages: candidate recommendation and composition, candidate evaluation and reputation inquiry, and candidate recommendation. Each stage is strictly separated by responsible parties to ensure proper operation.

First, candidates are recommended by shareholders and external search firms, forming a candidate pool. This pool is then narrowed down to a short list through evaluations and reputation inquiries by external appointment advisory members. After rigorous procedures including qualification verification and voting by the Nomination Committee members, the final candidates are recommended. KB Financial introduced this system in 2015 to enhance fairness and transparency.

Oh Gyutaek, Professor at Chung-Ang University College of Business and Economics

Additionally, KB Financial Group continues various efforts to lead sustainable growth and 'ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) management.' To secure board diversity, it has maintained a tradition of appointing women as outside directors, such as appointing Choi Myung-hee upon the retirement of Eunice Kim Yoo-nis Kyung-hee, who was appointed in 2015. Notably, if the candidates recommended by this Nomination Committee are appointed at the regular shareholders' meeting in March, it will be the first case among domestic financial holding companies to have two female outside directors serving simultaneously. This will increase the proportion of female outside directors from 14.3% (1/7) to 28.6% (2/7), approaching the 40% target recommended by the European Union (EU) Commission for female non-executive directors by 2020.

A KB Financial board official stated, "The board has been striving to enhance diversity in various aspects such as expertise, occupation, and gender. As a result, the outside directors' areas of expertise are widely distributed across financial management, finance, accounting, risk management, legal/regulatory, and consumer protection, and the board includes foreign-national outside directors and female outside directors, demonstrating well-established board diversity." He added, "We hope that the Nomination Committee's decision will further enhance board diversity and serve as a catalyst for expanding women's social advancement and participation in the board."

The two new outside director candidates and four reappointed outside director candidates are scheduled to be officially appointed as KB Financial outside directors after approval at the regular shareholders' meeting to be held next month.

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