Anna Jiwon Park has been covering the politics at The Korea Times since the summer of 2024, when she joined the press pool for the Office of the President in Korea. Prior to that, she spent about five years reporting extensively on financial markets, regulatory authorities and the financial industry. She joined The Korea Times in 2019 after spending eight years as a broadcast journalist at Arirang TV, Korea’s leading global broadcaster, covering politics, defense and culture.
Chairman Kim Ki-hong starts another term for JB Financial Group
JB Financial Group Chairman Kim Ki-hong / Courtesy of JB Financial Group
By Anna J. Park
By Anna J. Park
JB Financial Group's Chairman Kim Ki-hong will serve for three more years until March 2025, the group announced Thursday, the day after his reelection as group chief was confirmed at a shareholders' meeting.
The financial group explained that Kim's re-election was attributed to the chairman's successful leadership, under which the group's annual net profit more than doubled during the past three years through restructuring of business portfolios. The group's annual net profit recorded 506.6 billion won last year, a remarkable jump from 241.5 billion won ($199.9 million) in 2018.
With Kim's impressive financial performance, the group's executive candidate nomination committee was unanimous in recommending another term for him at the end of last year. The committee especially evaluated his vision, expertise and leadership positively.
Since March 2019, Kim has been at the helm of the financial group. Before he became the chief of JB Financial, he built his financial career in various related sectors, including banking, insurance and asset management.
“Based on thorough risk management, I will continue to lead the group's growth momentum, by focusing on achieving both stability and profitability, and increasing synergy effects among the subsidiaries,” Kim said, expressing his gratitude for the opportunity to lead the group for another term.
JB Financial has been proactive in the digitalization of its subsidiaries. Most notable is the establishment last year of its own Data Hub big-data platform, which integrates data from all the group's subsidiaries on a single platform. Based on the system, the group aims to accelerate its digital innovation through AI-based data analysis.
The group also kicked off its environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) committee last year, setting various medium- and long-term strategic goals that align with ESG values. The strengthening of shareholder rights as well as improvements in corporate governance are also part of the group's ESG management drive.