[People 人] Heo In, KB Kookmin Bank President: "Everything Starts from People"

What Is the Secret Behind KB's First Ever Three-Term Bank President?
Management Philosophy Emphasizing 'Rightful Business' and 'People'
Leading Digital Innovation at Kookmin Bank

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Sun-mi] Huh In, who took office as KB Kookmin Bank president in November 2017 with the title of the first bank president born in the 1960s, has set the record this year as 'KB's first president to serve three consecutive terms.'

Since Huh's inauguration, Kookmin Bank's growth has been regarded as a representative achievement within the group. Since 2017, the bank has recorded its highest-ever net profit every year. Net profit grew from 2.1747 trillion KRW in 2017 to 2.259 trillion KRW in 2018, and 2.439 trillion KRW last year. This year is also progressing smoothly, with cumulative net profit for the third quarter reaching 1.8824 trillion KRW.

President Huh is a rare 'sales expert' and 'field expert' bank president with over eight years of experience as a branch manager.

This is a strength in that he understands the bank's realities, the difficulties of field employees, and the direction the bank should take better than anyone else. In fact, when the KB Financial Group Subsidiary CEO Candidate Recommendation Committee (Daechuwi) selected Huh as the sole candidate for the next Kookmin Bank president on the 20th, he was evaluated as having a deep understanding of customers, markets, and sales sites through his diverse experience in key bank roles such as Kookmin Bank president, head of the sales group (vice president), and head of the management planning group (CFO), covering core functions like sales, finance, strategy, and credit.

Honest Sales, People-Centered Management Philosophy
Well-Known for Good Communication with Employees
Participating in 'Bora Show (Visible Radio)' from This Month... Expanding Contact with Employees

'Honest sales' is one of the management philosophies that President Huh has consistently emphasized since his inauguration in 2017.

He believes that in banking sales, the organization should approach systematically, scientifically, and ethically according to established manuals. When employees ask him, as a senior 'salesman,' to share sales know-how, he habitually says, "From the customer's perspective, 'Kookmin Bank employees respect me,' 'They explain well and try hard to deliver value to me.' Sales should give that kind of feeling."

Another of President Huh's management philosophies is people-centered management, summarized as "Everything starts with people." All bank products, services, systems, and infrastructure should be centered on people (customers and employees), with the principle of providing customers with trust and convenience and creating a happy workplace for employees.

This unique communication style of President Huh is one of the secrets that has allowed Kookmin Bank to establish itself as a leading bank and achieve record-breaking results every year while minimizing employee dissatisfaction. From this month, he has been conducting a non-face-to-face online communication event called 'Bora Show (Visible Radio),' where the CEO freely and sincerely shares management philosophies and key issues with employees, generating enthusiastic responses within the bank.

President Huh also boosts employee morale by gifting vitamins with handwritten encouragement messages and sometimes posting witty banners at the entrance of the building's caf?, such as "I live alone! Today's coffee is on me!"

Since President Huh took office, the way Kookmin Bank works has completely changed. He established the basic principle of '3 Nos (無)'?eliminating paper, PowerPoint (PPT), and poor communication?to focus on substance over form in reporting. The previously uniform employee uniforms, which acted as a rigid framework under the name of 'pursuing uniformity,' were completely abolished through dress code autonomy. Headquarters departments rearranged desks so that team members and team leaders sit on the same line, enabling work in a horizontal atmosphere.

President Huh In at the Center of Kookmin Bank's Digital Innovation

President Huh is currently at the center of Kookmin Bank's digital innovation.

In 2018, he held a Digital Transformation (DT) declaration ceremony and has been pushing for a full-scale transformation into a digital organization leading the Fourth Industrial Revolution era. As a result, Kookmin Bank is not only expanding online and mobile non-face-to-face channels but also driving changes across the entire organization, including personnel, processes, and culture.

Especially this month, the 'The K Project,' an innovation project preparing KB's future, was launched, marking the start of full-scale digital innovation. Through the next-generation IT system called 'The K Project,' the bank plans to apply artificial intelligence (AI), big data, cloud computing, and build innovative IT infrastructure to transform into a future-oriented IT system.

How does President Huh envision Kookmin Bank's appearance 10 years from now?

People often associate words like AI, digital, or non-face-to-face with the bank undergoing tremendous changes. Some even predict that physical branches will almost disappear. However, President Huh's view is somewhat different.

While AI, digital, and the future will undoubtedly change the bank's work processes and branch spaces significantly, he is confident that the bank will continue to exist by communicating with customers. He is also confident that Kookmin Bank can simultaneously catch two rabbits: being a 'bank strong in digital' and a 'bank with the strongest face-to-face channel services.'

Having been recognized for his achievements, President Huh will lead Kookmin Bank for one more year until November next year, facing many challenges ahead.

Despite difficult domestic and international business environments, he must maintain the leading bank's position through swift and efficient crisis management capabilities. Securing new growth engines amid changes in the financial ecosystem centered on big tech (large information and communication companies) platforms is also necessary. Maximizing synergy through collaboration between the growing Kookmin Bank and its affiliates' core competencies remains his responsibility.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.