Chairman Yoon Jong-kyoo of KB Financial Group is certain to serve another term with the Expanded Managerial Structure Committee of the group ready to recommend him as the next chairman on Sept. 26.
The committee had no choice but to name Chairman Yoon to another term after two other candidates withdrew from the final list. President Kim Ok-chan of KB Financial Group and President Yang Jong-hi of KB Non-Life Insurance Co. withdrew their candidacies.
Chairman Yoon’s achievements since taking over as the top manager of the financial group in November 2014 are impressive. He deftly tackled the financial group’s internal problems early. His leadership in the group’s takeover of LIG Non-Life Insurance Co. and Hyundai Securities, expanding the scale of the financial group’ operation, also played big factors in winning the committee’s recommendation.
Chairman Choi Young-whi said the committee, in selecting the candidates, considered their experience, professionalism, leadership and morality, among others, while the board will consider whether the candidate will be able to share the vision and values of the financial group and work for short and long-term management targets.
With Chairman Yoon named to serve another term all but certain at this stage, the group is eager to know what lays ahead as the curtain for Chairman Yoon’s second term about to be raised.
There had been concerns that he would be viewed as a “parachute candidate” and thus objections would be raised from the union solely on his credentials. He has been credited with strengthening the non-banking sector of the group, which has been regarded as a weak area, and helped the group overtake rival Shinhan Financial Group in terms of scale and performance results in the first half of 2017.
Two rival candidates of the final three decided to withdraw their names for the sake of continuity to maintain excellent management results. They also thought Yoon worked hard in the first three years of his initial term of office, and the results helped put the financial group ahead of its rivals in the country, opening the way for Yoon to serve another term.
Yoon, a native of Naju, South Jeolla Province, is a graduate of Sungkyunkwan University in Seoul and went on to Harvard University Graduate School to study management. He worked for the Samil Accounting Firm, rising to vice president and working for the Kim and Chang Law Firm as a consultant before joining the KB Financial Group as vice president and CFO. He took over as chairman and president of KB Kookmin Bank in 2014.
KB Financial Group said its first half net profit amounted to 1.8602 trillion won, up 65.5 percent YoY, including 999.01 billion won in Q2 net profit, up 13.8 percent YoY, the financial group said on July 20.
KB Financial Group Inc., a major South Korean banking group, said July 20 that its net profit jumped 70.6 percent in the second quarter from a year earlier helped by equity gains from its affiliates.
In the three months ending June 30, the financial holding company's net profit came to 990.1 billion won ($879 million), compared with 580.4 billion won in the same period last year, the group said in a regulatory filing.
In the January-June period, the group's combined net profit stood at 1.86 trillion won, up 65.3 percent from a year earlier.
The banking group attributed the on-year gain to an increased profitability and a decline in general costs and loan-loss provisions. It also said increased equity gains from its non-banking units gave a boost to the group's bottom line.
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