Yi Whan-woo is a Korea Times journalist primarily covering finance. He writes in-depth articles on macroeconomy and financial markets and previously covered sports, politics, diplomacy and inter-Korean affairs, among others. Feel free to contact him at yistory@koreatimes.co.kr.
Kookmin Bank to extend operating hours for 72 branches
KB Kookmin Bank headquarters in Seoul / Korea Times file
By Yi Whan-woo
By Yi Whan-woo
KB Kookmin Bank will extend the operating hours for 72 of its retail banking branches nationwide by two extra hours to 6 p.m., the company said Tuesday.
An estimated 900 branches of the bank have been operating from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., largely as a consequence of the emergence of digital banking and the dwindling number of clients visiting branches.
Asked why it decided to go against the current banking trend by extending the operating hours for the 72 branches, a KB Kookmin Bank told The Korea Times the decision was “to better serve the clients who still need offline banking services.”
“This was a business model pursued by our new CEO before taking office,” a bank press officer explained, referring to CEO Lee Jae-keun who was promoted to the post in December 2021 after serving as the senior executive vice president.
“The branches were carefully chosen after considering the demand from office workers, small business owners and other potential clients in the vicinity.”
Of the 72, 34 are located in Seoul, 19 in Incheon and Gyeonggi Province and the remaining 19 are scattered in various locations across the rest of the country.
The 72 branches will start by extending opening hours until 5 p.m. to comply with the current social distancing regulations and expand to full operation until 6 p.m. as the COVID-19 situation improves.
“The contactless banking service is picking up pace, but there are still a number of customers who want face-to-face consultation when it comes to borrowing large sums,” another bank official said. “In that regard, it is important to enhance competence of the offline business channels, instead of slashing their numbers drastically.”