KB Financial Group’s chief Yoon Jong-kyoo stressed the importance of rebuilding customer trust as a part of the company’s efforts to reclaim the title of the nation’s leading financial group, the company said Thursday.

The group’s new head has said he would place the highest priority on rebuilding trust and customer relationships, and also boosting employee morale.

“Rebuilding the trust of our customers, who I see as our biggest assets, is of utmost importance if we are to once again become Korea’s top financial group,” the chairman said in a recent meeting with employees. This was not the first time he has spoken of such goals. 

To accomplish them, Yoon said KB Financial must strengthen its corporate ethics and improve customer value by providing high quality products and services, while also stepping up corporate social responsibility.

The chairman also emphasized the importance of boosting employee morale, which has weakened amid a string of mishaps at the firm this year.

KB now plans to offer better compensation for employees based on their performance in customer services, and to give more authority to bank branches.

As for plans to improve profitability, KB plans to re-focus on its retail business, which is seen as having a competitive edge compared to rival banking groups.

“We plan to make our retail business more competitive and offer more financial services for small and medium enterprises,” Yoon said at his inauguration ceremony in November.

As a long-term growth engine, KB Financial Group will be tending to corporate and investment banking, along with virtual machine mobile banking.

Yoon ― widely considered as a pragmatist throughout the financial industry ― is also calling on KB Financial to implement more efficient policies and strategies to improve its business performance, which in the end, he said, is what the customers want.

By Shin Ji-hye (shinjh@heraldcorp.com)