Yoon Jong-kyoo steps down as KB Financial Group chair, expresses hopes for global top 20 ranking

KB Financial Group’s outgoing chairman, Yoon Jong-kyoo, expressed his hopes for the future of the group during a press conference on Monday at the group’s headquarters in Seoul. Yoon, who has served as chairman since November 2014, will step down on November 20, passing the reins to Yang Jong-hee, the group’s vice chairman.

Yoon reflected on his nine-year tenure and his disappointment regarding the bank’s global standing. “While we are a top financial group domestically, we only rank in the top 60 on a global scale. This remains my biggest regret,” he said. Despite being a leading financial group in Korea, KB Financial Group was ranked around 60th among global financial firms last year according to the British financial publication, the Banker.

The outgoing chairman believes that Yang Jong-hee is well-placed to lead the group towards its goal of becoming a top-10 financial firm globally. “Yang Jong-hee, in his role as vice chairman overseeing global and insurance business, possesses a deep understanding of the field. I believe he will make progress more swiftly than I did,” Yoon said.

Yoon also highlighted Indonesia as a significant market for KB Financial Group after its home country, Korea. He mentioned that the group is putting all-out efforts into normalizing Bank KB Bukopin, its Indonesian subsidiary. The bank’s digital system upgrading process is expected to be completed by June next year. Despite an upward trend in accumulated net losses over recent years, Bank KB Bukopin aims to turn around by 2025.

Furthermore, Yoon addressed policy changes necessary to boost Korean financial groups overall. He pointed out certain disadvantages in Korea’s fee structure compared to foreign financial institutions and noted that introducing account maintenance fees alone could result in a 10 percent increase in non-interest income for the group.

Yoon began his leadership amid internal disruptions and was re-elected three times, serving a total of nine years. He decided not to seek a fourth term in August, stating that he made the decision for the group’s “new future and transformation.” Despite his departure, Yoon remains optimistic about KB Financial Group’s future trajectory and expressed his confidence in Yang Jong-hee’s ability to lead the group towards sustainable progress.

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