KB Financial Chairman Yoon Jong-kyu Secures Third Term at General Meeting... Union-Nominated Outside Director Appointment Rejected (Comprehensive)

Chairman Yoon Jong-kyu Commits to Leap as Number One Financial Platform Company

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Sun-mi] Yoon Jong-kyu's third term as chairman of KB Financial Group has been officially confirmed, while the appointment of outside directors recommended by the employee stock ownership association was rejected.

At the KB Financial extraordinary general meeting of shareholders held at KB Kookmin Bank's Yeouido headquarters at 10 a.m. on the 20th, Chairman Yoon's third term was officially confirmed. The first agenda item, the appointment of Yoon Jong-kyu as an inside director, and the second agenda item, the appointment of Heo In, president of KB Kookmin Bank, as an outside director, were both approved at the extraordinary general meeting with an overwhelming approval rate exceeding 97%.

On the other hand, the proposals to appoint two outside directors, Professor Yoon Soon-jin of Seoul National University Graduate School of Environmental Studies and Ryu Young-jae, CEO of Sustainvest, were ultimately rejected. These two individuals were recommended as outside director candidates by KB Financial's employee stock ownership association on September 29 through a shareholder proposal, citing their expertise in Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG). The approval rates were only 4.62% for the third agenda and 3.80% for the fourth agenda.

Just before the extraordinary general meeting, the National Pension Service, the largest shareholder of KB Financial (with a 9.97% stake), announced its position to support agenda items 1 and 2 but oppose items 3 and 4, which strengthened the view that the appointment of outside directors recommended by KB Financial's employee stock ownership association was impossible. Previously, not only Korea Corporate Governance Service (KCGS), the largest domestic proxy advisory firm, but also the two major global proxy advisory firms, ISS and Glass Lewis, recommended opposing the appointment, stating that it was unlikely to enhance shareholder value.

Under Chairman Yoon's leadership, KB Financial formed the industry's first ESG committee in March this year, composed entirely of directors with expertise in governance and various fields, and has been continuously promoting ESG-related improvements such as reducing carbon emissions, announcing KB Greenway 2020, and declaring the group's first coal divestment policy.

What is Chairman Yoon's pledge for his third term?

With Chairman Yoon leading KB Financial for another three years until November 20, 2023, there is strong expectation that KB Financial's ESG management will accelerate. At the extraordinary general meeting, Chairman Yoon outlined KB Financial's future direction as securing first place in banking and second place in non-banking sectors, becoming the number one financial platform company, expanding global presence, creating social value through ESG management, and nurturing digital talent.

Chairman Yoon stated, "As a lifelong financial partner, I will focus the group's capabilities on becoming the most beloved number one financial group and number one financial platform company for our customers," adding, "We will focus on innovating business models based on core competencies, innovating financial platforms that customers can use most easily and quickly, expanding global presence to secure continuous growth engines, expanding social value creation through ESG management, and evolving into a creative and open organization."

Meanwhile, with the failure of KB Financial's employee stock ownership association's recommended director system, it has become more difficult to introduce labor director systems in the financial sector within this year. These systems, which aim to directly appoint workers as board directors to participate in corporate decision-making, were part of former President Moon Jae-in's election pledges and related to union-recommended director systems. Attention is now focused on whether Industrial Bank of Korea, which agreed to actively discuss the union-recommended director system with relevant institutions early next year, will introduce such a system.

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