The persisting slump of the finance industry, the massive leak of customer data and the rise of new competitors amounted to an unprecedented set of crises for KB Financial Group this year.

In the face of such adversity, the group decided to take the bull by the horns.

In April, the KB Financial’s organization culture reform committee announced a set of plans to freshen up its recently epressed business atmosphere and to recover its former position as the nation’s leading banking group.

The emergency committee was established in January this year, in an effort to sort out the mess of the massive data leak, which exposed over 100 million units of customer personal information and brought on a three-month suspension for KB Kookmin Card.

“The first and foremost action needed to renovate KB is a transparent personnel management system,” the committee said.

“Only a clear performance-based reward system may end the long-standing factionalism within the organization and give stimulus to its spirit.”

The task force thus suggested an appointment system in which all posts are filled on the same day.

“This will allow employees to focus on their operational tasks without being swayed by the personnel decisions.”

It is also crucial that the personnel measures are made on objective judging standards, leaving no room for personal intervention, the committee said.

In-house surveys will be made on a regular basis so that the right person may be positioned in the right post and outside experts will be actively recruited for posts that require a high level of professional knowledge, such as legal advisers.

KB also geared up to reinforce its nonbanking sectors, which have always been considered a weakness for the bank-centered group.

In March, KB incorporated Woori Financial as its 11th subsidiary and renamed it KB Capital, pledging to reorganize its business portfolio and expand into nonbanking finance.

“I believe that the recent series of hardships will act as a valuable opportunity for KB, boosting it to take its leap,” said group chairman Lim Young-rok, shortly before the committee’s reform plan announcement.

“The 25,000 employees of KB will all act together in order to embrace the reform measures and to build a sound corporate culture.”

By Bae Hyun-jung (tellme@heraldcorp.com)