KB Financial Group said Wednesday that it plans to set up an intraboard committee focused on environmental, social and corporate governance.

The group’s board of directors has decided to officially put the issue up for vote at the upcoming shareholders meeting scheduled for March 20.

The committee will handle decisions related to environmental, gender and social issues, the group said.

The launch comes after KB Financial Group Chairman Yoon Jong-kyoo vowed to shift to a ESG-centered governance structure and promote sustainable management, at a leadership workshop with the group’s ranking officials in early January.

In line with its ESG commitment, KB on Tuesday nominated Kwon Seon-joo, former CEO of the state-run Industrial Bank of Korea as external board member. If her nomination is approved at the March shareholders meeting, then KB will be the first financial holding group to have multiple female external board members.

The financial group currently has six external board members with two nearing the end of their terms. Kwon and Oh Kyu-taek, a professor at Chung-Ang University, have been nominated by KB to replace them.

KB will have two female external board members if Kwon joins. This will increase the female ratio of the external board up to 28.6 percent from the previous 14.3 percent, helping it edge closer to the European Union’s recommended goal of 40 percent by 2020, according to the firm.

(mkjung@heraldcorp.com)