KB Kookmin Bank CEO Hur to serve third consecutive term

KB Kookmin Bank CEO Hur Yin

By Kim Jae-heun

KB Kookmin Bank's incumbent CEO Hur Yin has been re-elected to serve a third consecutive term as CEO until the end of next year, becoming the first to do so at the bank.

KB Financial Group said its candidate committee put Hur's name on the final list for approval last month and it was accepted during a shareholders' meeting Wednesday.

The committee said Hur has been leading the bank stably for the past three years and despite the world economic slump caused by COVID-19, he has managed to avoid serious damage and kept the group running a profit.

“Hur also communicated actively to bring stability to the group while leading the firm to develop sustainably over the long term and is the right person to share and spread the corporate value and vision of KB,” the committee said.

Hur was appointed CEO, Nov. 20, 2017, and re-elected last year to serve a second term.

He was born in Jinju, South Gyeongsang Province, and graduated from Daegu High School.

Hur earned his bachelor's and master's degrees in law from Seoul National University. He started his banking career at the Korea Long Term Credit Bank in 1988, which was acquired by Kookmin Bank in 1998.

He served as Kookmin Bank's head of sales as chief financial officer, through which he gained experience in sales, strategy and loans.

In 2017, he became the youngest bank CEO at the age of 56. He took drastic action to change the lender's organizational culture and lead digitization initiatives.