This article was published on Aug. 29, 2025, at 5:41 p.m. on ChosunBiz MoneyMove site.
Kim Nam-ho, honorary chairman of DB Group's second generation, has recently stepped down from the management front, and circumstances have emerged indicating he is considering countermeasures against his father, Kim Jun-ki, the founder. As the possibility of him stepping down from the board of directors in March next year grows, it is interpreted that he has begun to respond. On the 1st, according to investment banking and legal circles, the honorary chairman's team is currently reviewing the appointment of a law firm.
◇ 'Responding to changes of the times' while pushing out his 50-year-old son and promoting an 80s aide to chairman
The honorary chairman's 'retreat to the second line' was sudden. On June 27, DB Group unexpectedly announced that Lee Soo-kwang, the former president of DB Insurance, was appointed as the group's chairman. While the new chairman Lee Soo-kwang is in his 80s (born in 1944), the honorary chairman is only 50 years old, leading to skepticism in the industry.
The appointment at that time was not a decision made by the board of directors but was carried out by Kim Jun-ki, the founder's full authority. DB Group emphasized that it appointed a specialized manager as chairman in response to changes such as the AI revolution; however, it is interpreted in business circles that the father pushed out his son and placed an aide in the chairman's position. Lee Soo-kwang, a veteran manager, joined DB Group in 1979 and has served as the CEO of Dongbu Fire & Marine Insurance and Dongbu Corporation, and since last year has been the auditor of the Kim Jun-ki Cultural Foundation.
In the industry, there is a strong belief that Kim Nam-ho, the honorary chairman, is likely to step down from the board of directors in March next year. An insider familiar with DB Group stated, 'It is odd that an expert manager was appointed as chairman under the pretext of separating ownership and management while the honorary chairman is only resigning from the chairman position but remaining on the board.'
If the honorary chairman does not voluntarily step down from his position on the board, the founder's side will have to initiate the process to dismiss him at the shareholders' meeting. According to Article 385 of the Commercial Act, dismissal is possible through a special resolution of the shareholders' meeting. More than 67% of the attending shareholders must agree. The honorary chairman's term as an inside director will last until March 2027.
◇ The board dominated by people affiliated with the father… Will the son bring in a white knight?
Business and legal circles believe that the honorary chairman is likely to be struggling with complex calculations. This is because he must respond to his father, but the situation is not simple. One business insider noted, 'The founder has never relinquished control of the group despite the legal risks.'
The honorary chairman currently holds 16.8% of the shares in the holding company DB, making him the largest individual shareholder. After receiving them as a gift from his father in 2004, he has maintained his status as the largest shareholder. However, when the shares of the second-largest shareholder, his father Kim Jun-ki (15.9%), and his sister Kim Joo-won, vice-chairman (9.87%), are added, the total exceeds 25%. Even if the honorary chairman issues convertible bonds (EB) based on DB's own shares (5%) to friendly shareholders, he still falls short of his father's and sister's equity stakes.
The DB board is also controlled by people affiliated with the founder. CEO Moon Deok-sik entered the group in 2016 as the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Dongbu Daewoo Electronics before the founder was sued. CEO Kang Woon-sik also joined in 2010 as President of DB Information Communication. Chairperson Lee Jae-hyung has been a veteran who served as vice-chairman of Dongbu Litec and Dongbu Daewoo Electronics since 2011. Inside Director Jung In-hwan, who has worked as president of Dongbu World, among other positions, is inevitably closer to Father Kim Jun-ki than to his son, the honorary chairman.
Moreover, the founder Kim Jun-ki is also gaining influence over DB Insurance, a financial subsidiary of the group, which is noteworthy. DB Insurance, along with DB, forms the two pillars of the group. While DB controls cash cows such as DB HiTek, DB FIS, DB World, and DB Communications within the group, DB Insurance sits at the top of the structure of the financial subsidiaries, which include DB Financial Investment, DB Life Insurance, DB Savings Bank, and DB Asset Management.
In this situation, DB suddenly began steadily purchasing shares in DB Insurance. At the beginning of the year, it held no shares, but from July to mid-August, it bought shares almost daily, pushing its stake up to 0.85%. DB's subsidiary DB HiTek also continuously bought shares in DB Insurance from Aug. 19 to 22, raising its ownership from 0% to 0.03%.
Although the largest individual shareholder of DB Insurance is Kim Nam-ho (9.01%), when adding the shares of Kim Jun-ki, the founder (5.94%), Kim Joo-won, vice-chairman (3.15%), Kim Jun-ki Cultural Foundation (5%), DB (0.85%), and DB HiTek (0.03%), it nearly amounts to 15%.
Industry insiders believe that if Kim Nam-ho is considering increasing his equity in DB Group, he will only have the option of bringing in third parties as strategic investors (SI) or financial investors (FI) as white knights. If he succeeds in bringing in a white knight, it increases the possibility of thwarting the special resolution at the shareholders' meeting next year and retaining his position on the board.
Excluding the stakes of the honorary chairman and related parties as well as treasury shares, it is estimated that about 51% of the equity is currently circulating. Of this, 29% is held by minority shareholders. Among the remaining 22% of shareholders excluding minority shareholders, it is presumed that there are shareholders holding sufficient stakes to become the honorary chairman's white knight.