Unconventional chief leads innovation at Kookmin Bank
By Kim Bo-eun
Hur Yin
Hur Yin is not the conventional type of figure to lead a bank.
In his first term as KB Kookmin Bank's CEO, he placed top priority on innovation. He is set to serve a second term until Nov. 20 2020 after shareholders' approved his reappointment at their meeting, Thursday
Hur, while not originally from Kookmin Bank or the Housing & Commercial Bank, from which KB's CEOs have usually been appointed, became a de facto employee after banks he worked at were taken over by KB..
A law major, he entered the Korea Long Term Credit Bank in 1988, which at the time was a small bank with only 300 staff.
Kookmin took over the Long Term Credit Bank in 1998 and the Housing & Commercial Bank in 2001.
In November, 2017, Hur was appointed the youngest bank CEO here, at the age of 56.
Once he had assumed the position, he began making drastic changes in an attempt to make the bank's organizational culture more flexible.
Under Hur, Kookmin abolished uniforms for female bank tellers.
Hur has also taken the initiative to digitize the bank.
It replaced paper documents with tablet PCs at counters where bank tellers and customers conduct transactions.
In October, the bank introduced a service through which customers can withdraw funds using their palm print, without having to bring a bankbook.
Last week, the bank opened a digital branch at the Seoul National University of Education subway station, where there are no human staff and all transactions are completed digitally.
Kookmin also became the first bank to launch a budget phone brand this month.
The bank's earnings have grown under Hur's leadership.
Kookmin's operating profit grew 28.1 percent in the third quarter of this year to 2.72 trillion won from the same period in 2017. The bank's net profit also grew 9 percent in the third quarter to 2 trillion won from the same period in 2017.
Hur was born in Jinju, South Gyeongsang Province, and graduated from Daegu High School and Seoul National University.