K Bank's emphasis on 'preemptive consumer protection' extends beyond just responding to financial fraud. The bank is restructuring its review system to ensure that the consumer protection officer is directly involved from product planning to launch, and it is enhancing a system that allows customers to validate services themselves, thereby strengthening a consumer-centric decision-making structure.
K Bank has revised its product council operating guidelines to formally grant veto power to the Chief Consumer Officer (CCO). This applies not only to product launches but also to service introductions, major changes, and discontinuations, ensuring that consumer protection is considered at every stage. If the CCO or a designated head of the consumer protection team exercises this veto, the issue must be corrected and reviewed again.
Tak Yoon-seong, K Bank's Consumer Protection Chief, stated, "The mere fact that the consumer protection officer participates directly in product reviews prompts operational departments to preemptively examine any unfavorable elements for customers," adding that this involvement has a preventive effect before products are reviewed.
The bank also operates a system to incorporate customer feedback into its products and services. Since 2024, K Bank has been running a consumer panel called 'Kerry Porter.' This year, it selected about 100 diverse customers from approximately 200 applicants, including students, professionals, small business owners, and foreigners.
Kerry Porter operates by having operational departments meet directly with the panel to gather opinions on products and services. To date, 10 departments have conducted 13 projects. For instance, during testing of the personal banking app, 27 panelists identified a total of 220 defects using various smartphones and operating systems. In the process of launching loans for small business owners, actual business owners provided feedback on the application process, which was then incorporated into the service.
K Bank has also established a system for sharing customer complaints with management. The bank analyzes customer feedback received through its customer center and app monthly and reports it at executive meetings attended by the bank's president. This is intended to ensure that relevant departments share issues and develop improvement measures.
Tak emphasized, "Consumer protection cannot be the responsibility of just one department. The entire bank must prioritize consumer protection as a key decision-making criterion," adding that the most important goal of K Bank's consumer protection efforts is to ensure that customers can feel the changes in consumer protection in the services they use.
* This article has been translated by AI.
Copyright ⓒ Aju Press All rights reserved.