KB Financial starts CEO selection

By Kang Seung-woo

Staff reporter

KB Financial Group will come up with a group of candidates for its presidency by the middle of this month and finalize its choice next month.

The recommendation committee of outside directors held a meeting in Seoul, Wednesday, and decided that nominees will be selected for interview by May 20 and the finalist picked by mid-June.

If the finalist earns a final nod at a shareholders' meeting, he will be inaugurated for a three-year term.

Current Kookmin Bank CEO Kang Chung-won was nominated as group leader, but withdrew.

To bring transparency to the process, three outside personnel search organizations will be used to create a pool of candidates.

``We will receive the list of candidates from the agencies and look into them to come up with the best suitable person,'' a KB official told The Korea Times.

``In order to improve the transparency of election and lead a fair race, all procedures will be made public.''