KB Financial Group Chairman Yang Jong-hee, left, holds a copy of a donation certificate with Cambodian Senate President Hun Sen at the Inspire Entertainment Resort on Yeongjong Island, Incheon, Wednesday. Courtesy of KB Financial Group

KB Financial Group Chairman Yang Jong-hee met with Cambodian Senate President Hun Sen to enhance cooperation for the development of the financial industry across Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries, the group said Wednesday.

Also high on the agenda was KB's ongoing expansion in Cambodia, supported by KB Prasac Bank, formerly KB Kookmin Bank Cambodia, and KB Daehan Specialized Bank—the group's two digital-focused affiliates in the region. Prasac is short for Programme de Rehabilitation et d'Appui au Secteur Agricole du Cambodge, meaning Cambodia Agricultural Sector Rehabilitation and Support Program.

The Senate president, the country's prime minister of 38 years, is visiting Korea to deliver a speech at the 25th World Knowledge Forum.

The group made a donation to the "Hun Sen Foundation," established to provide scholarships to low-income Cambodian university students.

Yang pledged to strengthen efforts to enhance bilateral exchanges to help the people of Cambodia access better financial services through KB Financial's capabilities.

"KB Financial signed a memorandum of understanding with the National Bank of Cambodia in May to build a QR code-based payment system, and has since advanced bilateral cooperation with the labor authorities in the country to extend loans to Cambodians employed overseas," Yang said during the event.

KB Financial's largest subsidiary, KB Kookmin Bank, established KB Kookmin Cambodia Bank in 2009. The entity has since merged with Prasac Microfinance, Cambodia's largest microfinance institution, and was rebranded as KB Prasac Bank in 2023.

KB Kookmin Card, the group's credit card subsidiary, is actively involved in building libraries and school facilities in Cambodia in collaboration with KB Prasac Bank.