Financial industry heavyweights compete to head banking lobby
Summary
The Korea Federation of Banks is preparing to choose a successor to Chairman Cho Yong-byoung, whose term ends on Nov. 30. Former KB Financial Group Chairman Yoon Jong-kyoo is viewed as a front-runner, but resistance to another KB Financial veteran taking a financial association leadership post has strengthened former Standard Chartered Bank Korea President Park Jong-bok’s position. Former regulators and other financial executives are also being considered. The federation expects to form a recommendation committee in early November and clarify the leading candidates by mid-November.
Key Facts
- The KFB represents 23 full members, including commercial, regional and internet-only lenders, and 33 associate members comprising foreign bank branches.
- Yoon Jong-kyoo led KB Financial Group from 2014 to 2023 and oversaw acquisitions including LIG Insurance and Hyundai Securities.
- Park Jong-bok led Standard Chartered Bank Korea from 2015 to 2025, serving four consecutive terms as chief executive, and sat on the KFB board until last year.
- Eun Sung-soo, former chairman of the Financial Services Commission and former chairman of Korea Eximbank, is among the former regulators being discussed.
- The planned recommendation committee will comprise the KFB’s 12 board members, including Cho and the heads of member banks.
From left, Yoon Jong-kyoo, former chairman of KB Financial Group; Park Jong-bok, former president of Standard Chartered (SC) Bank Korea; and Eun Sung-soo, former chairman of the Financial Services Commission and former head of the Export-Import Bank of Korea / Courtesy of KB Financial Group, SC Bank Korea and Korea Eximbank
With the Korea Federation of Banks (KFB) set to appoint its next chairman, several former financial executives and regulators are emerging as potential candidates to take the helm of the country’s leading banking lobby, according to industry officials on Friday.
The federation represents 23 full members — commercial, regional and internet-only lenders — as well as 33 associate members, comprising branches of foreign banks.
The incumbent, Cho Yong-byoung, is due to leave office on Nov. 30.
Yoon Jong-kyoo, former chairman of KB Financial Group, has long been viewed as a front-runner. He served as a vice chairman at accounting firm Samil PwC and president of KB Kookmin Bank before leading KB Financial from 2014 to 2023, overseeing major acquisitions including LIG Insurance and Hyundai Securities.
But the prospect of another KB Financial veteran taking a top post at a financial industry association has drawn growing resistance. The concern has intensified after Lee Dong-chul, a former KB Financial vice chairman, took the helm of the Credit Finance Association this year, followed by Kim Ki-hwan, a former president of KB Insurance, becoming head of the Korea Fire Protection Association.
That pushback has strengthened the position of Park Jong-bok, former president of Standard Chartered (SC) Bank Korea, as an alternative. Park joined the then-Korea First Bank in 1979 and led the lender from 2015 to 2025, serving four consecutive terms as chief executive. Having sat on the KFB board until last year in his capacity as the bank’s chief executive, he is seen as having closer ties to the federation’s current leadership than some of his potential rivals.
Korea Federation of Banks headquarters in Seoul / Yonhap
Former financial regulators are also being considered, with their experience working with government authorities seen as an asset.
Eun Sung-soo, former chairman of the Financial Services Commission, is among the names being discussed. He held several senior positions under the Moon Jae-in administration, including chairman of the Export-Import Bank of Korea (Korea Eximbank).
Other potential contenders include Yoon Jong-won, former president of Industrial Bank of Korea, and Hur Yin, a former vice chairman of KB Financial. Lee Chan-woo, chairman of NH NongHyup Financial Group, is also being mentioned ahead of the end of his term in February next year. Lee previously held senior posts at the Ministry of Finance and Economy and the Financial Supervisory Service.
“The next chairman will need to help banks respond to government policy priorities, including expanding lending to productive sectors and promoting inclusive finance, while keeping household debt in check,” a banking industry official said.
“The role will also require helping member banks diversify their revenue sources beyond their traditional reliance on the spread between lending and deposit rates.”
The KFB is expected to approve the formation of a chairman recommendation committee in early November. The committee will comprise the federation’s 12 board members, including the incumbent Cho and the heads of member banks. The field of leading candidates is expected to become clearer by mid-November.
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