[톡톡!금융]The reason why the appointment of the next president of KB Finance is not a problem

[이데일리 김유성 기자] The career of candidates for the presidency of KB Financial Group began. On the 28th, the KB Financial Group President’s Recommendation Committee selected a total of four candidates. Yoon Jong-gyu is the current Chairman of KB Financial Group, Heo In, the Chairman of KB Kookmin Bank, Dong-cheol Lee, CEO of KB Kookmin Card, and Kim Byeong-ho, former Vice Chairman of Hana Finance. However, there are observations that President Yoon’s re-election is influential. Some even come up with a viewer review that says “I’m not feeling nervous.”

Jongkyu Yoon, President of KB Finance. (Photo = provided by KB Finance)

Jong-gyu Yoon, who doesn’t seem to have a twist

Hoechu-wi has announced that it will apply stricter standards to President Yoon. This is to avoid the noise of “looking at the current president”. Despite this policy of the Hoechu Committee, an overwhelming majority of people expect it to be President Yoon’s recreation. This is because President Yoon has been unmatched in terms of risk management.

A good example is the lime incident. KB Finance is the only finance company, including commercial banks, that has avoided the Lime Fund crisis. This is compared to other directors of finance companies who must consider investor compensation in connection with the suspension of private equity buybacks. There is no legal risk to President Yoon himself.

It is also a positive factor that the mergers and acquisitions led by President Yoon yielded relatively successful results. He led the acquisition of Hyundai Securities (KB Securities), LIG ​​Non-life Insurance (KB Non-life Insurance) and Prudential Life Insurance, and helped increase the size of KB Finance. Recently, the acquisition of Bukopin Bank of Indonesia has also been successfully completed.

However, the voice of KB Financial Union, representing the opinions of employees within the group, is almost the only obstacle for Chairman Yoon. Approximately 30% of the total number of KB Financial Group members who voted against the reelection of President Yoon.

Still, union opposition is unlikely to be a big variable. This is because the union was primarily opposed to reelection of the existing CEO every time management was changed. It is difficult to say that it represents the complete opinion of KB Finance employees.

Three finalists, no visible dark horse

From the left of the photo, Heo In, Chairman of KB Kookmin Bank, Dong-cheol Lee, CEO of KB Kookmin Card, and Byung-Ho Kim, former Vice Chairman of Hana Finance

The three finalists, excluding Chairman Yoon, are also being evaluated as candidates for KB Financial Group in terms of qualities. However, not many people believe that he will cross the great mountain called ‘Jong-Gyu Yoon’.

There are no candidates facing President Yoon. Both KB Kookmin Bank Chairman Huh In and Lee Dong-cheol, Lee Dong-cheol, CEO of KB Kookmin Card, were affiliated companies during his tenure as Chairman Yoon, and are de facto ‘people of Jong-gyu Yoon ‘.

Hana’s former vice president of finance Kim Byung-ho, the only outsider included in the candidate army, is known as the ‘Kim Seung-yu persona’. There are some limitations to mastering KB Finance.

A financial sector official who requested anonymity said: “They are all excellent candidates, but it is true that the reelection of President Yoon is very strong.”

On the other hand, on the 16th of next month, Hoe Chuwi conducts interviews with 4 finalists to select a final candidate. After an additional in-depth evaluation over a week, the final candidate for the presidency will be decided on September 25.