’55-year-old Lee Jae-geun’ as the next Kookmin Bank president

Jae-geun Lee (55, photo), the vice president of the sales group, has been appointed as the next KB Kookmin Bank president. As the youngest president among major banks, he is evaluated as a person that reflects the will of KB Financial Chairman Yoon Jong-gyu to speed up innovation through generational change. In addition, President Huh In (60), who has led the bank for the past four years, has been promoted to vice chairman of KB Financial Group, and the competition for the next chairman position has intensified.

KB Financial Group announced on the 1st that it had held the ‘Affiliate CEO Candidate Recommendation Committee’ (the Great Cold) and selected Vice-President Lee as the sole candidate for the next Kookmin Bank president. The Daechuwi explained the reason for the selection, saying, “Candidate Lee is a young and dynamic organization with ‘change and innovation capabilities’ and ‘executive power’ to bring about change, and he has received high trust and support from executives and employees for his horizontal leadership.” did.

This nominee graduated from Seoul High School and Sogang University with a degree in mathematics and majored in financial engineering at KAIST Graduate School. At Kookmin Bank, he is considered a representative ‘treasurer’ who has served as the head of the financial planning department, the chief financial officer (CFO), and the managing director of the management planning group. Since January of last year, he has led the sales group and has held key positions in the bank including sales, finance, and strategy.

Born in 1966, the 55-year-old nominee will become the youngest president of the banking sector when he takes office. Currently, the heads of major commercial banks and regional banks were born between 1960 and 1964. This nominee is expected to be finally selected at the general shareholders’ meeting after review and recommendation by the Bank President Candidate Recommendation Committee during this month. The term of office is 2 years from January next year. Chairman Huh will take over as vice chairman of the holding company from January next year. Chairman Huh achieved the highest performance since his inauguration in 2017, reclaiming the leading bank position and leading the digital transformation without any setbacks. Inside and outside KB Financial, some observers say that Lee Dong-cheol, 60, president of KB Kookmin Card, whose term will expire at the end of this month, is highly likely to be promoted to vice chairman of the holding company.

If this happens, the ‘Troica Vice Chairman’ system will be established with Yang Jong-hee (60), who is currently in charge of the insurance and global divisions and brand promotion in the holding company. It is expected that three people of the same age, born in 1961, will compete for the successor position of Chairman Yoon Jong-gyu, whose term ends in November 2023.

By Park Hee-chang, staff reporter ramblas@donga.com