KB Financial Group (105560.KS) has launched the selection process for its next chairman. The potential candidate pool has been narrowed to 12, and the market sees a high likelihood of incumbent Chairman Yang Jong-hee securing another term.
KB Financial's Chairman Nomination Committee held a meeting Friday and resolved on detailed rules for the chairman recommendation process, narrowing the longlist of 20 potential candidates to 12, comprising six internal and six external candidates, the committee said.
In two meetings in April, the committee established detailed criteria for the chairman's qualifications and selected a pool of 20 candidates, 10 internal and 10 external. The internal candidate pool is known to include Chairman Yang along with other executives and chief executive officers (CEOs) of affiliates.
The committee plans to hold a meeting on the 3rd of next month to finalize a first shortlist of six candidates. On August 27, the six candidates will undergo interviews and screening to narrow the field to three.
The final single candidate will be determined through a vote following an in-depth evaluation via a second round of interviews on September 11. After undergoing qualification verification, the final candidate will go through recommendation procedures by the nomination committee and the board on October 2, and is scheduled to be formally appointed as chairman at an extraordinary shareholders' meeting in November.
The committee moved up the selection schedule by about a month to ensure fair competition. To avoid disadvantaging external candidates, it also decided to provide about a two-month preparation period between the first shortlist selection and the interviews. Existing mechanisms for fairness will be maintained, including providing sufficient internal information to external candidates and allotting longer interview time compared with internal candidates. "In line with the financial authorities' ongoing efforts to advance governance in the financial sector, we will conduct the management succession process more transparently and fairly," Cho Hwa-jun, chairman of the nomination committee, said.
Industry observers say Yang is the front-runner at this point. KB Financial's net profit last year was 5.843 trillion won, a record high. KB Financial's share price, which stood at 54,600 won per share just before Yang took office, closed at 156,600 won as of Friday, a surge of 186.8%. "Based on the numbers, there should be no obstacle to his reappointment," a financial industry official said.
