[COVER STORY] KB leadership change raises prospect of generational shift across financial sector

KB Financial Group’s surprise nomination of Vice Chairman Lee Jae-keun as its next chairman is expected to drive a broad management overhaul across subsidiaries in Seoul and spur a wider generational shift in the financial sector. The move comes as 54 subsidiary CEOs across the five major financial groups face term expirations by year-end. KB said the change reflects a push for bold institutional reform and future growth engines rather than simple continuity.

KB Financial’s chairman recommendation committee officially nominated Lee Jae-keun as the final candidate on Friday.

Lee Jae-keun was born in 1966, while incumbent Chairman Yang Jong-hee was born in 1961.

By the end of December, the terms of 10 KB subsidiary heads will expire, including KB Kookmin Bank CEO Lee Hwan-ju and KB Securities CEO Lee Hong-ku.

Across Shinhan, Hana, Woori and NH NongHyup, 44 subsidiary leaders are also reaching the end of their terms this year.

The terms of all five major bank heads expire at year-end, and only Shinhan Bank CEO Jung Sang-hyuk has previously secured an extension.

Published Sep 14, 2026 3:51 pm KST

Updated Sep 14, 2026 5:43 pm KST

Lee Jae-keun cites professional capability, not age, in appointing subsidiary CEOs

KB Financial Group Vice Chairman Lee Jae-keun, nominated as the group’s next chairman, speaks to reporters in the lobby of the group’s headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul, Monday. Yonhap

KB Financial Group’s surprise decision to nominate Vice Chairman Lee Jae-keun as its next leader instead of extending incumbent Chairman Yang Jong-hee’s term is expected to trigger a sweeping overhaul of its subsidiaries’ management, industry officials said Monday.

The move has also fueled speculation over whether the push for generational change will spread to other major financial holding companies. With 54 subsidiary CEOs across the country’s five major financial groups facing term expirations by the end of this year, a major wave of executive reshuffles is expected.

On Friday, KB Financial’s chairman recommendation committee officially nominated Lee as the final candidate for the chairmanship. Because Yang was widely anticipated to secure a second term following record-breaking financial results, market observers view the outcome as a dramatic leadership shift.

Yang was born in 1961, while Lee was born in 1966, making the latter five years younger. Explaining its rationale, the committee noted, “This is a critical juncture to execute bold institutional reforms and generational renewal to enhance our core competitiveness and unlock future growth engines.”

KB Financial, by prioritizing structural transformation over continuity based on past results, is expected to carry out substantial changes across its subsidiaries.

By the end of December, the terms of 10 subsidiary heads will expire, including KB Kookmin Bank CEO Lee Hwan-ju and KB Securities CEO Lee Hong-ku.

These outgoing subsidiary CEOs were born between 1964 and 1972, with several being older than the incoming chairman, including Kookmin Bank’s Lee.

“With the holding company formally committing to a generational shift, subsidiary CEOs will find it difficult to avoid the ripple effects of this restructuring,” a financial sector insider said.

Lee Jae-keun himself emphasized that competence would remain the primary standard in the upcoming subsidiary executive appointments, implying a departure from age-based promotions.

“Generational change isn’t strictly about chronological age,” he told reporters on his way to the office, Monday. “Rather than focusing on age, we will evaluate candidates based on their professional capability, expertise, communication with team members and ability to inspire genuine dedication across the organization.”

This wave of personnel renewal driven by KB Financial is highly likely to influence year-end reshuffles at rival financial groups.

KB's decision has come as financial regulators are pushing for corporate governance reforms centered on board independence and transparent CEO selection frameworks. The Lee Jae Myung administration has criticized financial group heads serving multiple terms for creating an "corrupt inner circle," saying the boards of the groups have not properly checked incumbent CEOs and chairmen. It even moved to change relevant regulations to prevent a financial group chairperson from serving more than two terms — a move that has been put on hold.

Against this backdrop, factors such as strategic growth vision and leadership renewal are emerging as key criteria for CEOs who seek multiple terms, alongside past operating performance.

Besides KB, at the other four major financial groups — Shinhan, Hana, Woori and NH NongHyup — 44 subsidiary leaders are reaching the end of their terms this year.

Hana Financial has 13 outgoing CEOs, followed by Shinhan Financial and Woori Financial with 12 each and NH NongHyup Financial with seven.

Notably, the terms of all five major bank heads expire simultaneously at year-end — Kookmin Bank’s Lee, Shinhan Bank CEO Jung Sang-hyuk, Hana Bank CEO Lee Ho-sung, Woori Bank CEO Jung Jin-wan and NongHyup Bank CEO Kang Tae-young. Among them, Jung is the only one who had previously secured an extension of his term.

All eyes are now on whether the four groups, like KB, will also embrace generational change as a key personnel criterion.

At Shinhan Financial, the 12 CEOs nearing term expirations were born between 1964 and 1977. Hana Financial’s 13 outgoing leaders fall between 1963 and 1971, while Woori Financial and NH NongHyup Financial cover birth years of 1963-1970 and 1965-1970, respectively.

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KB金融集团出人意料地提名副会长李在根为下一任会长，此举预计将推动首尔各子公司进行大规模管理层重组，并引发金融业更广泛的代际更迭。与此同时，五大金融集团旗下54家子公司的首席执行官的任期均将于年底到期。KB表示，此次人事变动体现了其对大胆的制度改革和未来增长引擎的追求，而非简单的延续。

KB金融集团董事长推荐委员会于周五正式提名李在根为最终候选人。

李在根出生于 1966 年，而现任会长杨钟熙出生于 1961 年。

到 12 月底，KB 集团旗下 10 家子公司的负责人任期将到期，其中包括 KB 国民银行首席执行官李焕柱和 KB 证券首席执行官李洪久。

今年，新韩、韩亚、友利和NH农协旗下44家子公司的领导人也将任期届满。

五大银行行长的任期均于年底到期，此前只有新韩银行首席执行官郑相赫获得过延期。

发布于2026年9月14日下午3:51（韩国标准时间）

更新于2026年9月14日下午5:43（韩国标准时间）

李在根在任命子公司CEO时，看重的是专业能力，而不是年龄。

周一，KB金融集团副会长李在根在首尔汝矣岛集团总部大厅接受记者采访，他已被提名为该集团下一任会长。（韩联社）

KB金融集团出人意料地决定提名副董事长李在根担任下一任董事长，而不是延长现任董事长杨钟熙的任期，业内人士周一表示，此举预计将引发其子公司管理层的全面改革。

此举也引发了人们的猜测，即推动代际更迭的浪潮是否会蔓延到其他大型金融控股公司。今年年底前，全国五大金融集团旗下54家子公司的首席执行官任期都将到期，预计将出现一波大规模的高管人事变动。

周五，KB金融集团董事长推荐委员会正式提名李为董事长最终候选人。由于市场普遍预期杨在创纪录的财务业绩后将连任，因此市场观察人士将此次提名结果视为领导层重大更迭。

杨安泽生于1961年，李登辉生于1966年，后者比杨安泽小五岁。委员会在解释其理由时指出：“现在是进行大胆的体制改革和代际更新的关键时刻，以增强我们的核心竞争力并释放未来的增长引擎。”

KB Financial 优先考虑结构转型而非延续以往的业绩，预计将对其子公司进行重大变革。

到 12 月底，包括 KB 国民银行首席执行官李焕柱和 KB 证券首席执行官李洪久在内的 10 位子公司负责人的任期将到期。

这些即将卸任的子公司首席执行官出生于 1964 年至 1972 年之间，其中几位比即将上任的董事长年纪还大，包括国民银行的李。

一位金融界内部人士表示：“随着控股公司正式承诺进行代际更迭，各子公司的首席执行官们将很难避免此次重组带来的连锁反应。”

李在根本人也强调，能力仍将是即将到来的子公司高管任命的首要标准，这意味着将不再以年龄为基础进行晋升。

“代际更替并非仅仅关乎年龄，”他在周一上班途中告诉记者，“我们不会只关注年龄，而是会根据候选人的专业能力、专长、与团队成员的沟通能力以及激发整个组织成员真正奉献精神的能力来评估他们。”

KB Financial 发起的这波人事更新浪潮很可能会影响竞争对手金融集团的年终人事调整。

KB做出这一决定之际，金融监管机构正大力推进以董事会独立性和CEO遴选机制透明度为核心的公司治理改革。李在明政府批评金融集团董事长连任多届，称其形成“腐败的核心圈子”，并指出这些集团的董事会未能对现任CEO和董事长进行有效监督。政府甚至曾试图修改相关法规，限制金融集团董事长连任两届以上——但这一举措目前已被搁置。

在此背景下，除了过去的经营业绩外，战略增长愿景和领导层更新等因素正成为寻求连任的首席执行官的关键标准。

除了 KB 之外，其他四大金融集团——新韩、韩亚、友利和 NH 农协——今年共有 44 位子公司领​​导人任期届满。

Hana Financial 有 13 位即将卸任的 CEO，其次是 Shinhan Financial 和 Woori Financial，各有 12 位，NH NongHyup Financial 有 7 位。

值得注意的是，五大银行的首席执行官任期均于年底同时到期，他们分别是国民银行首席执行官李明博、新韩银行首席执行官郑相赫、韩亚银行首席执行官李浩成、友利银行首席执行官郑镇完和农协银行首席执行官姜泰荣。其中，郑相赫是唯一一位此前已获得连任的首席执行官。

现在所有人都在关注这四家公司是否也会像KB一样，将代际更替作为一项关键的人员配置标准。

新韩金融集团即将卸任的12位CEO出生于1964年至1977年之间。韩亚金融集团即将卸任的13位领导人出生于1963年至1971年之间​​，而友利金融集团和NH农协金融集团的领导人分别出生于1963年至1970年和1965年至1970年之间。

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