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.
KB to pick final chairman candidate by early September
KB Financial Group Chairman Yoon Jong-kyoo / Courtesy of KB Financial Group
By Yi Whan-woo
By Yi Whan-woo
KB Financial Group has begun selecting candidates to replace outgoing Chairman Yoon Jong-kyoo, the company announced on Thursday.
Yoon's third three-year term will end on Nov. 20.
KB Financial Group headquarters in Seoul / Korea Times file
The banking group said its CEO recommendation committee convened a meeting, Thursday, and decided to narrow down the pool of 20 candidates that it longlisted in May. It said the final, sole candidate will be confirmed by Sept. 8.
The 20 longlisted candidates consist of 10 executives from within the firm's ranks and 10 outside figures.
The committee will pick six of them by Aug. 8. It will then conduct thorough interviews and other screening processes to compile a shortlist of three by Aug 29.
The final candidate among the three will be decided by Sept. 8, after another round of interviews and polling of the seven committee members.
The final candidate will need a recommendation from the board of directors in their joint meeting with the committee members, Sept. 12, plus approval from shareholders in their meeting slated for Nov. 20.
For confidential reasons, the banking group said it will not disclose the names or other private information of the candidates.