K Bank Shrinks Board to Seven Members; CEO Choi Woo-hyung Reappointed

K Bank has streamlined its board structure to speed decision-making and sharpen oversight. Shareholders also approved another term for CEO Choi Woo-hyung, citing performance that included a successful IPO. 

K Bank said it held its 10th annual general meeting of shareholders on Monday and approved a package of agenda items, including Choi’s reappointment; the reappointment of two outside directors; the appointment of three outside directors who will serve on the audit committee; deletion of a clause excluding cumulative voting; and the creation of a Consumer Protection Committee.

Shareholders approved a broad reshaping of the board. The board will be reduced to seven members from 11. Under the new structure, it will consist of one inside director, five outside directors and one other non-executive director, down from one inside director, eight outside directors and two other non-executive directors. 

Lee Hyun-ae, who previously led NH Futures, was appointed as a new audit committee member. Digital specialists also joined, including Jung Jin-ho, who previously served as a deputy head of KB Kookmin Bank’s Digital Transformation (DT) division, and Kim Nam-jun, who previously served as a vice president at Shinhan Card. Existing directors Lee Kyung-sik, a Seoul National University professor, and Choi Jong-oh, a professional committee member with a background at the Financial Supervisory Service, were reappointed.

K Bank also approved the establishment and operation of its Consumer Protection Committee. It said it is the first internet-only bank in South Korea to set up a consumer protection committee as an independent subcommittee within the board. The bank said it created the committee to elevate consumer protection from complaint handling or compliance checks to a core management issue directly overseen by the board. 

The committee’s main review items include basic policies for building and operating internal controls for financial consumer protection; major changes to consumer protection systems; enactment and revision of consumer protection standards and internal control standards; and overall key policies and management frameworks related to consumer protection. 

Shareholders also approved Choi’s reappointment. The bank said he was credited with stable management after posting net profit of 128.1 billion won in 2024 and 112.6 billion won in 2025.