Financial firms on track to scout top executives from rival firms

Former NH Financial Group Chairman Son Byung-hwan speaks during a seminar celebrating its 10-year anniversary at a hotel in the nation's southern port city of Busan on Nov. 10, 2022. After ending his tenure there, he recently moved to KB Kookmin Bank as its new outside director. Yonhap

By Lee Min-hyung

Financial firms here are scouting top executives from their competitors, in a move to add fresh energy to their corporate culture and embrace diversity in their hiring practices.

KB Kookmin Bank recently appointed ex-NH Financial Group Chairman Son Byung-hwan as a new outside director. The lender has so far focused on hiring experts in the academic circle, but is now moving to recruit top executives with ample experience in the financial industry. Son is expected to share his decades-long experience in the field and give fresh insight to KB under his two-year tenure.

This was not the first time KB appointed an outside director from a rival bank.

In 2015, KB Financial Group Chairman Yoon Jong-kyoo scouted former Shinhan Financial Group President Choi Young-hui as a non-executive director. This came as a surprise to the overall banking industry here, as few financial firms had attempted to scout ranking executives from their major rivals.

KB also recruited former Industrial Bank of Korea CEO Kwon Sun-joo in 2020 as one of the group's outside directors. Kwon is the nation's first female bank chief. The decision was part of KB's efforts to enhance its environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) management by increasing the number of women for ranking positions.

Toss Bank, one of the nation's fastest-growing internet-only lenders, also hired former Citibank Korea CEO Park Jin-hei for the position. Park led the Korean subsidiary of the U.S. bank for six years and is widely considered an expert in corporate finance. Last year, Toss also appointed Lee Gun-ho, ex-chief of KB Kookmin Bank, as a new outside director.

“Those who led rival financial firms can give fresh and unusual advice after they become the non-executive director of a competitor,” an industry source said. “Unlike professors or experts in the academia, former top executives from financial firms can also share more realistic management tips and risk management know-how.”