KB金融集团候任会长李在根首次到任表态：要做全球领先金融集团、加速AI与资本市场业务转型，未公布新增财务承诺

KB Chairman Nominee Vows to Become Global Leading Financial Group - Seoul Economic Daily
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Lee Jae-keun, named as the next chairman of KB Financial Group, speaks in the lobby of KB Financial's new building in Yeouido, Seoul, on Nov. 14. Yonhap News
Lee Jae-keun, head of KB Financial Group's global, wealth management and SME divisions and the group's next chairman nominee, said the meaning of being a leading financial group is "creating new standards and benchmarks for the industry," pledging to drive change in South Korea's financial industry rather than settle for the top spot at home. He said he plans to secure new growth engines by responding pre-emptively to structural shifts in finance, including artificial intelligence and digital transformation as well as the "money move" into capital markets.
Lee made the remarks on the 14th as he met reporters on his first day at KB Financial's headquarters in Seoul's Yeouido district. "I take my appointment seriously, as a message not to settle for being No. 1," he said.
KB Financial posted net profit of 3.8846 trillion won in the first half of this year, up 13.1% from a year earlier and a record high for a half-year period. Rather than being satisfied with the record results, Lee believes the group must find new growth engines in line with the rapidly changing financial environment.
Lee cited AI and digital transformation, along with the "money move" into capital markets, as the biggest changes KB will face. "In the AI era, some say the fate of financial groups hinges on whether they respond properly to the major changes of the next three to five years," he said. "It means we must build on stable performance and move forward without falling behind the changes." He added, "If there is one biggest change, it is that the flow is shifting toward capital markets."
KB Financial is already accelerating its structural shift by moving capital generated at the bank into its capital markets business. This year it approved rights offerings for KB Securities totaling 1.7 trillion won in two rounds. KB Securities' contribution to group net profit rose to 21% in the first half of this year.
Lee set the ultimate goal of that change as building competitiveness beyond being the domestic No. 1. "I sometimes wonder what it even means anymore to be the No. 1 financial group in Korea," he said. "I will play a role in leading the development and transformation of Korea's financial industry and in establishing ourselves as a leading financial group in the global market, beyond Korea."
He also presented the expansion of productive and inclusive finance as a core task. KB Financial plans to supply a combined 110 trillion won over five years through 2030, including 93 trillion won in productive finance and 17 trillion won in inclusive finance. "Another meaning of leading finance is developing together with society," the nominee said. "Leading finance is not about generating large profits through interest income alone, but about growing together with customers, investors and society."
On running the organization, he stressed "system-based management." "The larger a financial group is, the more it must run on systems and processes rather than the individual skills of a particular person," Lee said. "Rather than concentrating power in the chairman, I want to aim for a decentralized, sustainable organization." He was reticent about the year-end reshuffle, saying he had "not yet given it thought," but added, "I will consider, on the basis of capability and expertise, how well someone works with employees and who can draw out the dedication of the organization's members."
On the "generational shift" that the chairman nomination committee cited as the reason for its final choice, he explained, "It is less about a generational shift through youth than about enabling decisions to be made more quickly and with greater accountability."
Lee made clear his intention to maintain continuity with existing management. "I offer my deep respect and gratitude to Chairman Yang Jong-hee, who put KB Financial on solid ground and led its stable growth and development," he said. "I will ensure that continuity in management, strategy and business is preserved and carried forward." Yang is also said to have offered his congratulations to Lee at an executive meeting held the same day.
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Original reporting by
Do Hye-won
for Seoul Economic Daily.
AI-translated from Korean. Quotes from foreign sources are based on Korean-language reports and may not reflect exact original wording.
Translated by AI on
Sep 14, 2026
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