KB chief is school, banker, innovator all rolled into one

By Kim Jae-won

KB Financial Group Chairman Euh Yoon-dae is a pioneer of international financial studies in Korea. He became the first Korean to earn a Ph.D. in international finance in 1978 from the University of Michigan, working since then as one of the nation’s notable experts for more than thirty years.

The 65-year-old Jinhae, South Gyeongsang Province native earned his bachelor of arts in business administration and an MBA from Korea University in the 1960s.

After completing his studies at the renowned private school, he went to Japan to study further at the Asian Institute of Management and completed the master of business management program. He then moved to Ann Arbor.

After about 10 years of studying abroad, Euh came back to his alma mater and taught at the school as a professor and later became its president.

Euh became a familiar public figure during his presidency of Korea University for four years from 2003 to 2006 for his efforts to globalize the school.

Under his leadership, one third of classes adopted English as the primary language: the number of foreign exchange students increased and facilities were upgraded. Before he took over, English classes only amounted to 4 percent. This figure changed to 34 percent of the curricula at the university within the four years of his presidency.

Euh hinted his internationalization policy may have come from news weekly Time magazine, which opened his eyes to a new world.

It is widely agreed upon that Korea University under his leadership set the standards for other Korean universities and colleges. Euh also succeeded in raising 470 billion won for the university development fund.

Despite his stellar performance, Euh served only one term.

Euh is not a typical scholar who focuses only on studies and lectures. His domain of activity reaches beyond the ivory tower, reaching the areas of government agencies, the central bank and financial companies.

He served in various advisory roles for the government. He was former vice chair of the National Economic Advisory Council, chairman of the Advisory Board of the Ministry of Education and Human Resources, and sat on the Public Fund Oversight Commission. He served as a Monetary Policy Member of the Bank of Korea and as a board member of the Korea Development Bank. From 1993 to 2004, he acted as policy advisor for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

Euh worked as the first chief of the Korea Center for International Finance in 1999. He previously headed the Korean Academic Society of Business Administration and Korea Monetary and Finance Association.

Euh also served as chairman of the Presidential Council on Nation Branding. He was appointed as its inaugural chairman in January 2009.

The council also aims to right misconceptions about Korea, concerning its culture, its products, and its people; and to raise respect for Korea so as to support Korean businesses and nationals abroad through government initiated strategies and policies.

In his inaugural speech as the KB Financial chairman, Euh said the group needed to slim down and cut costs to achieve its vision of becoming a global bank and has launched several reforms since being named.