KB Financial Group Selects Lee Jae-geun as Next Chairman

KB Financial Group has selected Lee Jae-geun as the final candidate for its next chairman. This decision comes as a surprise to the financial sector, which had anticipated the reappointment of current chairman Yang Jong-hee, who has led the company to record-breaking performance. The KB Financial Chairman Candidate Recommendation Committee emphasized a focus on 'change and generational transition' over 'stability.'

On September 11, the committee conducted in-depth interviews with three final candidates: Yang Jong-hee, current chairman of KB Financial Group; Kwon Kwang-seok, former president of Woori Bank; and Lee Jae-geun, the current head of KB Financial Group's division. Following these interviews, the committee announced Lee as the final candidate for the next chairman.

Initially, the financial sector leaned towards Yang's reappointment due to KB Financial's unprecedented performance during his tenure. Under Yang's leadership, KB Financial became the first financial holding company to surpass an annual net profit of 5 trillion won in 2024, the year after he took office. In the first half of this year, the company reported a net profit of 3.8846 trillion won, marking the highest half-year performance in its history. There are also discussions in the financial sector about the possibility of annual net profits exceeding 6 trillion won for the first time this year.

However, the recommendation committee selected Lee after evaluating each candidate's management vision, business strategy, and the group's long-term growth direction during the second round of in-depth interviews.

Chairman Cho Hwa-jun stated, "We chose Lee as the right person to lead the necessary bold changes and generational transition to strengthen the group's fundamental competitiveness and secure future growth drivers, rather than resting on current excellent performance."

While both candidates have extensive experience in key positions at KB Kookmin Bank and the holding company, Lee, born in 1966, is five years younger than Yang.

Cho further praised Lee, saying, "He possesses exceptional expertise across both banking and non-banking sectors, along with deep insights into finance, strategy, and global operations, gained from his roles as head of the holding company and bank." The committee highly valued Lee's comprehensive experience in both banking and non-banking operations.

Lee's first challenge will be to meet the heightened performance expectations established during Yang's tenure while also securing new growth drivers. Currently, KB Financial is focusing on asset management (WM), pensions, small and medium-sized enterprises (SME), corporate investment banking (CIB), insurance, and artificial intelligence (AI) as its next core businesses. How effectively Lee can present concrete plans for AI transformation, productive finance, and global business expansion will be crucial.

Expanding productive and inclusive finance is also a major task. In its '2025 KB Financial Group Sustainability Management Report' published in July, KB Financial announced plans to provide a total of 17 trillion won in inclusive finance by 2030, including 10.5 trillion won for low-income and vulnerable groups and 6.5 trillion won for small business owners and self-employed individuals. This requires balancing profitability management with the social role of finance.

Lee is expected to be officially appointed as chairman at an extraordinary shareholders' meeting on November 20, following the recommendation from the committee and the board on October 2. His term will begin on November 21 and last for three years.

Lee graduated from Seoul High School and earned a degree in mathematics from Sogang University, followed by a master's degree in economics from the same institution. He joined Housing Bank in 1993 and has since held various key positions, including head of management planning and sales groups at KB Kookmin Bank. In 2022, he became the youngest bank president in the industry. Since last year, he has overseen global operations, WM, and SME businesses as the head of KB Financial Group.