KB Financial Group’s outside directors to resign

Home > Business > Finance

print dictionary print

KB Financial Group’s outside directors to resign

All seven outside directors of KB Financial Group announced Wednesday they will be handing in their resignations.

The group had nine outside directors until last month. But two, including Lee Kyung-jae, who was the group’s board chairman, resigned after Yoon Jong-kyoo was inaugurated as new chairman of the financial group.

Lee was serving his fifth term as an outside director at the financial group, which would have ended in March.

The seven remaining outside directors had decided to leave in March at the financial institution’s shareholders meeting to prevent any management disruptions, KB Financial Group said in a statement.

The outside directors have been under immense pressure to leave because they were considered to be involved in a feud involving top management that has tarnished the financial group’s reputation since April.

Then-Chairman Lim Yong-rok and Lee-Kun-ho, president of the financial group’s flagship KB Kookmin Bank, were locked in a fierce internal dispute over whether or not the company should replace its main computer system.

Lee raised the issue that Lim and other outside executives involved in decision making at the company had manipulated reports to favor a specific computer system.

He asked the financial watchdog to investigate the matter in April.

Five of the seven outside directors’ terms are set to expire in March. The decision not to extend their terms is believed to be aimed at helping KB Financial Group proceed with its acquisiton of LIG Insurance.

KB is still waiting for the process to be approved by financial authorities.

By LEE HO-JEONG [ojlee82@joongang.co.kr]
Log in to Twitter or Facebook account to connect
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
help-image Social comment?
s
lock icon

To write comments, please log in to one of the accounts.

Standards Board Policy (0/250자)