KB Financial Group Chair and CEO Yang Jong-hee set the group’s strategic direction as “transition and expansion,” and underscored the group’s acceleration in incorporating new technology and expansion into new markets to boost competitiveness in his New Year message, Friday.
KB said that the group held a kickoff ceremony without an in-person event, instead featuring a digital New Year’s address in which Yang’s message was rendered using AI-based video technology.
“Transformation means parting with what is familiar, while expansion means encountering what is unfamiliar,” Yang said in his message. “Only with exceptional resolve and effort this year can we build the foundation for the group to level up and secure confidence for the decade ahead.”
Customers’ time is shifting to platforms, while technology is erasing industry boundaries and assets moving fast across borders and sectors, he said, forecasting that the wave of AI will reshape the financial landscape.
“We must firmly preserve KB’s strengths and foundations while reshaping our business models to fit the new environment, expanding our vision and business boundaries to reach customers and markets we have not focused on,” he said.
Yang underscored the need to expand dominance among strategic customer segments, including youth, seniors, small and midsize companies and high-net-worth individuals, while moving early to capture business opportunities in emerging markets for digital assets and AI-driven services.
He also called for stronger expertise in business viability assessment and a more sophisticated risk-management framework, alongside comprehensive wealth-management and advisory services to navigate shifting money flows, while urging to boost efficiency in its investment banking model.
While embracing the tech-led shift, Yang stressed the importance of stability and social inclusion.
“We must not only fulfill our core role of supporting the economy’s growth engines through productive finance, but also serve as a bulwark protecting vulnerable members of the community through inclusive finance,” he said, adding that change must remain anchored in customer protection, internal controls, data security and broader social values.
jwc@heraldcorp.com