KB Financial Group’s Outside Director Candidate Recommendation Committee said on Tuesday it recommended 1 new outside director and 4 outside directors for reappointment as outside director candidates. The recommended candidates will be formally appointed as outside directors of KB Financial Group after a vote at the 2026 annual general meeting next month.

The new outside director candidate for a 2-year term is Seo Jeong-ho (서정호), managing partner at law firm The Wiz. Existing outside directors Cho Hwa-jun, Choi Jae-hong, Kim Seong-yong and Lee Myeong-hwal were recommended for reappointment as outside director candidates for 1-year terms.

Seo is a legal expert who has passed both the administrative examination and the bar exam. He worked at the National Tax Service and the Ministry of Finance and Economy. He currently handles advisory work at law firm The Wiz, including tax as well as finance, administration and corporate matters.

He also conducts broad advisory activities for finance-related agencies such as the Financial Services Commission, the Financial Supervisory Service and the Korea Customs Service, giving him a high level of understanding of the financial industry. He has steadily served as an outside director at many companies, including financial firms such as Hyundai Capital and Hanwha General Insurance, building experience and capabilities in corporate governance.

With the addition of lawyer Seo, who has diverse advisory experience in corporate practice, KB Financial Group’s board is expected to further strengthen its legal expertise. Diversity is also expected to improve as the share of outside directors with academic backgrounds declines to 3 people, or 42 percent.

Outside director Yeo Jeong-seong will step down as an outside director after next month’s shareholders’ meeting as his maximum term of 3 years expires under the staggered term policy.

KB Financial Group operates a separate process in which an appointment advisory committee made up of external experts evaluates and verifies the candidate pool, to enhance objectivity from the formation of the outside director candidate pool to the final recommendation. It also runs on an ongoing basis a shareholder recommendation system for preliminary outside director candidates, under which any shareholder holding at least 1 share can recommend an outside director candidate.

A committee official said, "The addition of candidate Seo, who has built broad experience in both the public and private sectors, will be a great force in helping the board protect shareholders and financial consumers with a balanced perspective and enhance corporate value over the long term." The official added, "Going forward, KB Financial Group’s board will put shareholders’ rights and interests first, and as part of that, it will work harder to expand shareholder participation in forming the pool of outside director candidates."