The head of KB Financial Group said Monday that he will remain at his job until the end of his term, despite growing pressure from the government for him to step down as part of a policy push for a reshuffle in banking firm governance.
Euh Yoon-dae, the chief of South Korea’s second-largest banking firm, reiterated his stern intent to retain the top post till July this year, when his official term at KB Financial comes due.
Euh Yoon-dae
Asked whether he will complete his term in office, he responded by saying, “Of course,” after a seminar held in Seoul.
But Euh refused to answer a question asking whether he will bid for a second consecutive term, saying, “It’s not up to me but the board to decide.”
Euh, who was known to be a close aide of former President Lee Myung-bak, has been under mounting pressure from the financial authorities reorganized under the new administration to resign, as he is considered Lee’s man.
With less than three months to go on in his term, Euh has been firm that he will complete his term at the banking group, even after two other banking chiefs who are also close aides of the former president offered to step down.
“KB Financial is a commercial financial company. I haven’t heard anything in particular from the government (in regards to my term),” he said.
On Sunday, Lee Pal-seung, the chief of state-run Woori Finance Holdings Co., tendered his resignation, about two weeks after Kang Man-soo, the head of state-run KDB Financial Group Co., offered to step down. (Yonhap News)