Son Tae-seung, Chairman of Woori Financial Group, Purchases Additional 5,000 Shares of Company Stock... Third Time This Year

Purchased 15,000 Treasury Shares in Three Transactions This Year, Holding a Total of 78,127 Shares
Commitment to Responsible Management to Overcome Unstable Market Conditions and Enhance Corporate and Shareholder Value

Son Tae-seung, Chairman of Woori Financial Group

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyo-jin] Sohn Tae-seung, Chairman of Woori Financial Group, purchased 5,000 shares of the company's stock (Woori Financial Group shares) on the open market. This is the third time this year that he has bought back company shares.

Woori Financial Group announced on the 14th that Chairman Sohn has purchased a total of 15,000 shares in three transactions since the first trading day of the domestic stock market in January, bringing his total holdings to 78,127 shares.

Amid the full-scale impact of the COVID-19 pandemic that began in March, causing significant volatility in global financial markets such as the U.S. and Europe, the domestic stock market has also experienced a sharp decline due to large-scale sell-offs by foreign investors.

In particular, financial stocks, which have a high proportion of foreign investors, have seen notable drops. As of the end of March, the price-to-book ratio (PBR) of domestic financial holding companies averaged about 0.2 times. This is lower than the 0.37 times during the 2008 global financial crisis and the 0.28 times during the 1998 IMF foreign exchange crisis.

In response, Chairman Sohn emphasized that Woori Financial Group's fundamentals are at a completely different level compared to past financial crises, and that the 'stable profit-generating ability and solid soundness management capability' achieved over the past few years will allow the company to overcome current market instability and concerns. This was the reason behind his recent share buyback, according to Woori Financial.

A Woori Financial Group official stated, "Chairman Sohn's stock purchase expresses a strong will and confidence to fulfill the social role of finance amid internal and external crises in the group's second year since its launch, while also protecting corporate and shareholder value," adding, "We plan to communicate with domestic and international investors in various ways going forward."

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