KB금융지주. (사진=연합뉴스)

 

[Alpha Biz=(Chicago) Reporter Paul Lee] KB Financial Group has begun to listen to opinions from shareholders, employees and labor unions ahead of the announcement of its final candidate group (List), which will outline its next chairman in late August. 

 

The move is aimed at enhancing transparency and fairness in the presidential nomination process through the process of verifying the reputation of the former presidential candidate group of the board of directors. The board of directors will condense the list of candidates for the next president by reflecting the results of the reputation verification.

According to the financial sector on the 27th, the board of directors of KB Financial Group recently held a meeting with the KB Financial Union Council on the appointment of the next chairman. The KB Financial Union Council is a union of KB Financial affiliates. An insider of KB Financial Group explained, "The board of directors and the union council recently had a meeting regarding the appointment of the chairman."

The meeting to select the next presidential candidate group is part of stakeholder communication. KB Financial Group will conduct stakeholder communication to listen to the opinions of stakeholders such as labor unions, shareholders, and employees for the fairness of the presidential candidate recommendation process.

This work is aimed at the presidential candidate group in the long list (Long List·1th candidate group). In 2020, when KB Financial Group Chairman Yoon Jong-kyu was decided to serve a second term, KB Financial Group also worked on communicating with stakeholders. Currently, the long list included Chairman Yoon, Vice Chairman Huh In, Vice Chairman Lee Dong-chul and Vice Chairman Yang Jong-hee. KB Securities President Park Jung-rim and KB Kookmin Bank President Lee Jae-geun, who oversee KB Financial's capital market-imposed corporate investment banking (CIB) division, are also said to have been listed on the long list. A senior company official said, "The internal candidates include representatives of major affiliates, including the vice chairman."

In the financial sector, three vice chairmen are considered strong candidates for the next chairman, given that Chairman Yoon is unlikely to serve a second term. An official from the financial sector said, "The leading candidate group (shortlist) will be narrowed down to two to three vice chairmen."

Currently, the most likely candidate for the next president is Vice Chairman Huh. Vice Chairman Huh inherited Kookmin Bank, where Chairman Yoon also served, and is currently in charge of the global and insurance sectors. Another leading candidate, Vice Chairman Lee, is a "strategic expert," and has strengths in the merger and acquisition (M&A) sector, including serving as head of the integrated promotion team of KB Investment & Securities and Hyundai Securities. He is currently in charge of digital and information technology (IT) division. Vice Chairman Yang, head of individual customer, asset management (WM) and small and medium-sized business (SME), is said to have boosted the competitiveness of insurance as the first president of KB Insurance.

KB Financial Group plans to disclose the schedule regarding the appointment of the chairman in early August. At the end of August, the company plans to announce a short list and conduct an in-depth evaluation through interviews with the final candidates around September to elect its next chairman.

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