'Yoon Jong-kyu for 3 More Years'... KB Chooses Stable Innovation

Since Chairman Yoon Jong-kyu's Inauguration, KB Financial's Asset Size Doubled
Strengthening Position as Leading Financial Group by Combining Expanded Subsidiaries' Capabilities
"Ensuring KB Financial Group Becomes Number One in Financial Platforms as Well"

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Sun-mi] Yoon Jong-kyu, Chairman of KB Financial Group, has successfully secured a stable 'third term.' This achievement reflects his performance in steadily managing the organization over the past six years and growing KB into a leading financial group. Chairman Yoon is expected to lead KB once again until 2023, solidifying its position as a 'leading financial group' while focusing his efforts on strengthening environmental, social, and governance (ESG) management, expanding global business, and enhancing internal communication.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

◆Strong yet gentle leadership for 3 more years= The KB Financial Group Chairman Candidate Recommendation Committee held a meeting on the 16th and selected Chairman Yoon as the final candidate for the next chairman. Chairman Yoon is scheduled to be appointed as chairman for a three-year term at the extraordinary general meeting of shareholders to be held on November 20.

Chairman Yoon was recognized for his achievements in steadily managing the organization over the past six years and establishing KB as a leading financial group. Sunwoo Seok-ho, chairman of the recommendation committee, stated, "He has demonstrated excellent performance by laying the foundation for revenue diversification through successful mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in non-banking and global sectors." He added, "He has built the group's future growth foundation through digital financial innovation and holds a unique philosophy and conviction regarding ESG. The committee members agreed that Chairman Yoon should lead the organization for another three years to continue sustainable growth."

KB Financial's solidification of its position as a leading financial group under Chairman Yoon's leadership is highly regarded. Since Yoon took office as KB Financial chairman in November 2014, KB Financial's asset size has nearly doubled from 308 trillion won to 567 trillion won as of the end of the first half of this year. KB Financial's second-quarter performance this year recorded a net profit of 980 billion won, surpassing the previous leader Shinhan Financial Group (873.1 billion won) to reclaim the top spot.

The size of its affiliates has also grown. In 2014, only KB Kookmin Bank (275.45 trillion won) and KB Kookmin Card (15.88 trillion won) had assets exceeding 10 trillion won, but now there are six affiliates with such scale: ▲KB Kookmin Bank (425.31 trillion won) ▲KB Securities (56.6 trillion won) ▲KB Insurance (37.67 trillion won) ▲KB Kookmin Card (23.85 trillion won) ▲KB Capital (12.14 trillion won) ▲Prudential Life Insurance (20.81 trillion won).

Solidifying the position as a leading financial group
Challenging number one in financial platforms amid big tech attacks
Strengthening globalization
Finding suitable leaders for affiliates remains a task

◆Chairman Yoon's future challenges= The recommendation committee members yesterday deeply evaluated and questioned strategic tasks to overcome crises in the new normal era, digital transformation strategies to gain competitive advantage against platform companies, global expansion plans, trust-building methods with various stakeholders including customers, shareholders, and employees, and ESG promotion strategies. These questions reflect the concerns about the direction KB will take over the next three years.

KB Financial faces the challenge of securing new revenue sources in the ultra-low interest rate era, where the base rate has fallen to the 0% range, to solidify its position as a 'leading financial group,' while also fending off attacks from big tech companies targeting the financial industry. Since Chairman Yoon has included influential companies into the financial group through active M&A, it is expected that he will focus on consolidating the capabilities of affiliates to maintain the top position. In this regard, smoothly integrating the recently acquired Prudential Life Insurance into the group to generate synergy is considered an urgent task for Chairman Yoon.

Selecting the chief executive officers (CEOs) of group affiliates to maximize group capabilities is another area Chairman Yoon needs to pay attention to. Heo In, president of KB Kookmin Bank, the largest affiliate within KB Financial, will see his '2+1' term expire this November. Since Heo has delivered strong performance since his appointment in 2017 and successfully renewed his term last year, and is considered to have good synergy with Chairman Yoon, whether he is reappointed or transferred to another affiliate, he is expected to play a key role in generating group synergy as a close associate of Chairman Yoon.

With the terms of CEOs of seven affiliates, who were reappointed last year, mostly ending by the end of this year, Chairman Yoon faces deeper concerns regarding appointments. ESG management is also expected to be an area where Chairman Yoon will take an active role. In March this year, Chairman Yoon emphasized his commitment to ESG management by launching the KB Financial ESG Committee, composed of all internal and external directors (a total of nine members), including himself. Since the ESG Committee sets KB Financial's ESG strategy and oversees its implementation, acting as the control tower for the group's ESG management, Chairman Yoon's direct involvement in ESG strategy is implied. Additionally, leveraging recently acquired overseas financial companies such as Indonesia's mid-sized bank Bukopin, where KB Financial has secured management rights, to achieve results is another task Chairman Yoon must oversee.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.