Ousted chief of Korean Bank financial backs down, exits board

The ousted chief of KB Financial, South Korea's second-biggest banking group by market value, backed down Sunday from escalating tension with financial regulators, announcing he will drop the lawsuit against them and quit as a registered member of the board.
"I hope to let everything go," Lim Young-rok said in a statement. "I will take everything that has happened as a result of my shortcomings and spend time to self-introspect."
   Lim was ousted by the board on Sept. 18 after being accused of lax management of the group, which developed into an ugly internal feud with the head of the flagship bank, Kookmin Bank. He sued the Financial Services Commission, which had ordered him to serve a three-month suspension, claiming he did nothing wrong and vowing to clear his name and save the reputation of the group.