President Hur Yin of KB Kookmin Bank. (Photo: KB Bank)

KB Kookmin Bank CEO Hur Yin is headed towards another term after KB Financial Group nominated him as a candidate to stay on as head of its banking unit on Oct. 17.

The group said the nomination was made during the group's CEO recommendation committee meeting for subsidiaries. Hur's current two-year term is scheduled to expire at the end of November.

He will have an in-depth interview process with the committee as a CEO candidate next month before shareholder approval of the 2nd term.

If the committee recommends him after the process, KB Kookmin Bank shareholders will finalize the appointment during the general shareholders' meeting. If appointed, Hur will serve another year as CEO from next month.

“Before heading KB Kookmin Bank, Hur served various posts, including the bank's CFO,” a KB Financial Group official said.

“He has proven his quality in various fields, including sales, finance, strategy and lending with KB Kookmin Bank. He understands customers' needs as well as Korea’s financial market more than anyone.

Despite the nation's saturated financial market, Hur managed to lead the bank's solid earnings through his differentiated communication skills over the past two years.”

Hur, born in 1961, graduated from Seoul National University and started his career at Korea Long Term Credit Bank in 1988.

After KB Kookmin Bank’s acquisition of Korea Long Term Credit Bank in 1999, he served many positions, including CFO and vice president of KB Kookmin, and took charge of several tasks such as financial affairs, credit reviews and corporate finance.

KB Kookmin Bank CEO Hur Yin met with U Han Zaw, Myanmar's construction minister, and U Thant Sin, the Myanmar ambassador to South Korea, at the bank's headquarters in Yeouido on July 4 to discuss ways to cooperate with each other in housing financing.

The Myanmar’s construction ministry and KB Kookmin Bank signed an MOU in February 2017 to support the Myanmar government's housing supply policy and establish cooperative relations for the development of the country’s housing and financial markets.

KB Kookmin Bank has been building a cooperative relationship for the transfer of housing financing capabilities by conducting housing finance workshops for the Myanmar's construction ministry, senior central bank officials and executives and employees of the Housing Construction Bank in South Korea and Myanmar on a total of six occasions over the past five years.

“We will actively support the successful settlement of the Myanmar government's housing financing policy,” said Hur Yin, adding, “We will strengthen our partnership with the Myanmar’s construction ministry in housing and infrastructure finance, the biggest strength of KB Kookmin Bank.”

KB Kookmin Bank, meanwhile, has opened 13 local branches so far since the establishment of KB Microfinance Corp. in Myanmar in March 2017, striving to support housing funds for working-class people to improve the residential environment for local people in Myanmar.

KB Kookmin Bank CEO Hur Yin visited Myanmar and Cambodia this week for business expansion in Southeast Asia. He was accompanied by executives of the bank such as Individual Customer Group head Lee Hwan-ju, Digital Finance Group head Han Dong-hwan and Global Business Headquarters Director Park Jae-hong.

On April 3, they visited Naypyidaw, Myanmar and met with Construction Ministry officials and central bank executives to discuss more strategic cooperation. In addition, they visited KB Microfinance Myanmar to discuss local financial needs and better communication with customers.

Established in March last year, KB Microfinance Myanmar is currently running four branches for 22,000 customers. This year, the local corporation is going to expand its business mainly in Naypyidaw and Yangon by combining microcredit with home loans.

In Cambodia, in the meantime, KB Kookmin Bank established KB Cambodia Bank in as early as April 2009.

The local bank currently has four branches, which are led by local branch managers so that KB Kookmin Bank’s advanced financial techniques and local banking practices can be harmoniously blended with each other. The South Korean bank is planning to open a new branch in Phnom Penh this year.

More recently, the South Korean bank launched Liiv KB Cambodia as a global digital bank platform in September 2016. More than 30,000 customers are currently using the platform.

KB Kookmin Bank opened its second branch in Vietnam Feb. 20 as the bank strives to meet the rising needs of Korean and Vietnamese clients.

The Hanoi branch of KB Kookmin Bank is located on the 25th floor of the Landmark 72 building. Following the Ho Chi Minh City branch, this new office focuses on providing financial services to Korean corporations and promotes investment in the northern region of Vietnam.

“Kookmin Bank’s Hanoi branch will make continuous efforts to provide Vietnamese customers as well as Korean corporations with diversified financial compensation.

This branch will also be the springboard for our global promotion in other countries,” said Hur Yin, CEO of KB Kookmin Bank.