Hana Bank Removes 'KEB' After 4 Years and 5 Months (Comprehensive)

After 4 years and 5 months since the September 2015 integration,
starting next month on the 3rd, 'KEB' will be removed from the bank name,
union insists on one-sided approach and threatens legal action

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Min-young] KEB Hana Bank is removing 'KEB' from its bank name. The bank's labor union immediately opposed this.

Hana Bank announced on the 31st that from the 3rd of next month, the brand name will change from KEB Hana Bank to 'Hana Bank.'

This brand name change comes 4 years and 5 months after the launch of the integrated Hana Bank in September 2015. In KEB Hana Bank, KEB stands for 'Korea Exchange Bank,' symbolizing the merger of the former Hana Bank and Korea Exchange Bank.

A Hana Bank official explained the reason for the name change, saying, "From the customer's perspective, we aim to eliminate customer inconvenience and enhance brand value through unifying the group brand under 'Hana.'"

Hana Bank has continuously reviewed the most familiar and convenient brand name from the customer's perspective through brand-related consulting and customer advisory panels.

As a result of the review, although most customers recognize the merger with the former Korea Exchange Bank through 'KEB,' they considered the pronunciation difficulty of 'KEB' and the confusion with other banks using English initials.

They also took into account that within Hana Financial Group, the brand name was the only one not unified. The explanation was that by unifying the company name under the 'Hana' brand, they aimed to foster a sense of belonging among employees and enhance brand competitiveness.

The Hana Bank labor union immediately opposed this decision. In a statement, the union said, "We have warned the responsible executives multiple times about the unilateral brand change, the need to follow procedures, and the one-way approach, and have clearly stated that a brand change without union agreement violates labor-management agreements."

The union explained that the company unilaterally broke the agreement made at the time of the merger that the integrated bank's name would include 'Exchange' or 'KEB.'

The union said, "The name change must be stopped immediately, and a lawful procedure must be followed based on consensus with employees and customers, reaching an agreement with the union." They also stated that they are prepared to take legal action after reviewing the unilateral breach of the agreement.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.