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Taekwang Group Affiliate Korea Savings Bank Recommends Executive Director Kim Jung-gi as New CEO

[비즈한국] It has been confirmed that the Nomination Committee (NomCom) of Korea Savings Bank has recently recommended Kim Jung-gi (52, Executive Director of the Planning and Management Office) as the new CEO. Korea Savings Bank, an affiliate of Taekwang Group, is currently led by CEO Moon Yoon-seok (62). Korea Savings Bank's recent performance is on an upward trajectory. Although CEO Moon successfully secured a reappointment last November in recognition of his achievements, he is scheduled to move to the position of CEO at Yegaram Savings Bank, another affiliate. Attention is focused on whether Executive Director Kim Jung-gi will succeed CEO Moon in continuing the upward momentum of Korea Savings Bank's performance.

Executive Director Kim Jung-gi was appointed as an internal director of Korea Savings Bank in 2024 and has been participating in the board of directors. Until recently, as the Head of the Planning and Management Office at Korea Savings Bank, he has been a visible presence at various company events. Explaining the reason for recommending Director Kim, the Korea Savings Bank NomCom stated, "He is a proven leader who laid the foundation for mid-to-long-term growth, including surpassing 2 trillion won in assets through his overall management of long-term strategy and planning," and added, "He has demonstrated outstanding financial capabilities, particularly by achieving a stable profit structure and a successful turnaround to surplus last year through a portfolio reorganization focused on high-quality assets."

The NomCom added, "He has shown prudent management skills by preemptively improving soundness indicators through the sale of non-performing loans. We decided to recommend candidate Kim Jung-gi as the right person to lead stable growth based on his deep understanding of the organization and the trust of its members."

Korea Savings Bank appointed former Samsung Life Insurance specialist Moon Yoon-seok as CEO in 2023. Since CEO Moon's inauguration, performance has improved. Although the bank recorded net losses of 3.9 billion won and 48.7 billion won in 2023 and 2024 respectively, it posted a net profit of 8.4 billion won in the first to third quarters of last year. While the performance for the fourth quarter of last year has not yet been announced, a turnaround to surplus is highly likely if the current trend continues.

CEO Moon Yoon-seok successfully secured a reappointment as CEO last November in recognition of these achievements. The Korea Savings Bank NomCom evaluated CEO Moon by saying, "He achieved a surplus turnaround within two years of his tenure despite the worst business environment through his leadership and management innovation mindset," and "Soundness indicators have also improved significantly through stable asset management."

However, CEO Moon Yoon-seok is moving to the position of CEO at Yegaram Savings Bank, another affiliate of Taekwang Group. An official from Korea Savings Bank stated, "CEO Moon will take office as the CEO of Yegaram Savings Bank, and Korea Savings Bank plans to appoint candidate Kim Jung-gi, who has served as the Head of the Planning and Management Office, as the new CEO."

As of the end of 2025, Yegaram Savings Bank had total assets of 2.4129 trillion won, and Korea Savings Bank had 2.0591 trillion won. Given that only 22 out of 79 savings banks in the industry had assets exceeding 2 trillion won (as of September 2025), both companies can be considered to be in the upper-mid range of the industry.

Korea Savings Bank has a 30.50% stake held by former Taekwang Group Chairman Lee Ho-jin. The former chairman's nephew, Lee Won-jun, also holds a 23.15% stake. In addition, Taekwang Industrial003240 and Daehan Synthetic Fiber003830 hold 20.24% each, and Heungkuk Life Insurance holds 5.87%. Since the ownership family and affiliates hold a high percentage of shares, they are inevitably sensitive to the performance of Korea Savings Bank. The business world is paying close attention to whether Executive Director Kim Jung-gi will succeed in improving Korea Savings Bank's performance.