KB Financial Group headquarters in Seoul (KB Financial Group)
KB Financial Group on Thursday announced the details of its candidate selection process for a new chairman ahead of the upcoming shareholders’ meeting, set to take place in November.
The group's Chairman Candidate Recommendation Committee held its first meeting on Thursday and decided on the procedure to shortlist candidates.
On Aug. 8, the committee plans to draw up a shortlist of six candidates, and on Aug. 29, it will conduct the first round of interviews and narrow down the shortlist to three.
The group noted that if any of the six candidates do not wish to reveal their identity publicly, they will remain anonymous until the final shortlist of three is determined.
On Sept. 8, an in-depth interview of the three candidates will be conducted, and through voting, one final candidate will be selected.
This candidate will be appointed as the new chief during the group’s shareholders‘ meeting scheduled on Nov. 20.
Current KB Financial chief Yoon Jong-kyoo has held the post since 2014 and his three-year-long third term is set to expire on Nov. 20.
According to an industry source, it is likely for three of the group’s vice chairmen-- Yang Jong-hee, Lee Dong-cheol, and Hur Yin -- to be included in the shortlist.
Currently, Yang oversees three business divisions -- retail customer, wealth management and pension and SMEs. Huh is in charge of global business and insurance divisions, while Lee is responsible for the digital business and IT division.
Given that the group's policy requires the chairman to be under 70 years old at the time of appointment or reappointment, Chairman Yoon, who is currently 68 years old, could potentially be eligible for another term. However, industry insiders do not believe it is likely that he will seek reappointment.
This is because if Chairman Yoon were to lead KB Financial for over ten years by serving one more term, it could lead to criticism regarding prolonged leadership.
By Song Seung-hyun (ssh @heraldcorp.com)
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