Final Race for KB Chairman Begins

The selection of a new chairman for the KB Financial Group will move into high gear today as interviews with the final three candidates for the post are slated to begin.

The selection process is being watched closely by industry observers since it is likely to determine whether KB Financial, which owns Kookmin Bank, may make a bid for either Woori Financial Group or Korea Exchange Bank,

The leading candidate is seen by industry insiders as Euh Yoon-dae, the chairman of the Presidential Council on National Branding.

Euh appears to support increasing the size of KB Financial. Euh said in an interview that Korea needs a financial company that is among the top 50 in the world. As of last year, KB Financial was ranked as 87th in the world in terms of its total asset. If KB Financial wants to reach the top 50, it needs to merge with Woori.

However, Euh refused to comment directly on the issue in a recent interview. “I am not in a position to talk about Woori,” he said.

Euh is known to be close to President Lee Myung-bak. He studied finance and was president of the Korea Center for International Finance and a member of the Monetary Policy Committee of the central bank but has never managed a commercial bank. Earlier this year he was considered a strong candidate to become central bank governor, although he lost out to Kim Choong-soo.

He is also credited for transforming Korea University as its president between 2003 and 2006. He introduced English-only lectures, offered performance-based incentives to professors and was successful in raising corporate donations.

Euh’s closest challenger is believed to be Lee Chol-hwi, chairman and chief executive of Korea Asset Management Corp. Lee has said increasing the size of KB Financial is inevitable and has suggested he has a detailed plan to achieve that goal.

Lee is a former finance ministry bureaucrat. He once held an executive position at the Asia Development Bank but lacks experience in managing a bank.

Lee Hwa-eon, the former chairman of Daegu Bank, is the only candidate among the three finalists who has served as a bank executive. Although Daegu Bank is small, Lee says it is his banking experience that what counts.

[English News Team]