Kookmin to Name Next CEO From Inside

The next chairman of KB Financial Group, Euh Yoon-dae, said Thursday that he will select the new president of Kookmin Bank internally within 10 days of his inauguration.

Speaking to reporters at the forum “The Future of the Financial Industry,” he said, “The next Kookmin Bank president will be selected from inside the bank.”

The move is interpreted as a measure to minimize the impact from the resignation of outgoing bank CEO Kang Chung-won. This is the first time for Euh to officially mention Kang’s successor.

“Nobody from the outside has asked for a favor for selecting a certain candidate, and a report saying the candidate pool has been reduced to three is not true,” Euh said. “I’ll select the next CEO based on ability but will reflect the opinions of employees.”

Euh will be officially inaugurated at an extraordinary shareholders’ meeting Tuesday and Kang will step down immediately afterwards.

cha@donga.com