KB Kookmin Bank said on March 22 it plans to set up a Consumer Protection Committee, a board subcommittee, after its regular shareholders meeting on March 25.

The step was taken to pre-emptively implement the Financial Supervisory Service’s "best practices for financial consumer protection governance" announced in September last year and to establish consumer protection as a core system across management.

The Consumer Protection Committee will operate as a specialised board subcommittee and consist of three directors, including an outside director with expertise in consumer protection. The committee will in principle meet regularly once every half-year, but may also convene as needed. It will directly review and decide management strategies and policies related to consumer protection.

The committee also plans to advance the board-level consumer protection system by establishing basic policies for building and operating an internal control system for consumer protection, evaluating performance compensation systems, including KPIs, from a consumer protection perspective, and managing follow-up measures based on the results of the Financial Supervisory Service’s on-site evaluations and inspections.

A KB Kookmin Bank official said, "Through the establishment of this committee, we will set consumer protection as our top management value and strengthen a responsible, board-led consumer protection system." The official added, "We will continue to expand consumer-focused management based on customer trust."