KB Financial Group Begins Next Chairman Selection Process... Final Candidates Confirmed on September 8

Yoon Jong-kyu, Chairman of KB Financial Group

KB Financial Group will begin the management succession process for selecting the next chairman on the 20th. KB Financial Chairman Yoon Jong-kyu's term is set to expire on November 20.

On this day, the Chairman Candidate Recommendation Committee (CCRC) held a meeting regarding the management succession process and resolved the qualifications for the chairman and detailed rules for the chairman candidate recommendation procedure.

The longlist, finalized on May 9, consists of a total of 20 candidates, with 10 internal and 10 external candidates each. It is known to include three current vice chairmen?Heo In, Lee Dong-cheol, and Yang Jong-hee?who have been developed through the succession program. If Chairman Yoon Jong-kyu had not declined, he might also have been on the longlist.

The process for selecting the next chairman will begin targeting these candidates. On August 8, the first shortlist of six candidates will be decided, followed by a second shortlist of three candidates on August 29, and the final chairman candidate will be confirmed on September 8.

The timing for starting this succession process and selecting the shortlist has been moved up by about three weeks compared to 2020. A KB Financial official explained, "The period from selecting the shortlist to the final candidate has been extended from 19 days to one month to allow sufficient time to thoroughly evaluate the candidates."

The evaluation method has also been improved. Previously, there was only one interview with the shortlisted candidates before selecting the final candidate, but this year, two interviews will be conducted along with reputation checks through external agencies to carefully verify the candidates.

The interview process involves conducting the first interview with all six candidates on the first shortlist, then after evaluation, conducting a second interview with the three candidates on the second shortlist. The reputation checks will investigate the candidates' reputations and evaluations in the financial market to be used as reference in the assessment.

After the final candidate passes the qualification verification as stipulated by relevant laws, the recommendation procedures by the CCRC and the board of directors will take place on September 12, and the chairman will be appointed at the general meeting of shareholders held on November 20.

Kim Kyung-ho, chairman of the CCRC, said, "The CCRC will conduct this management succession process based on the core principles of independence, fairness, and transparency to create a model case for governance. We will thoroughly verify whether internal and external candidates possess the qualities and capabilities required of a chairman to ensure that the best candidate who can lead KB Financial’s future and growth is appointed."

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