Shin Yong-byeong, Chairman of Shinhan Financial Group, "Let's Return to Our Founding Spirit and Start Anew"

Shin Yong-byeong, Chairman of Shinhan Financial Group, is delivering a commemorative speech at the group's 19th anniversary ceremony held on the 1st. This anniversary ceremony was conducted through pre-recording and an untact method to participate in social distancing measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 infection.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kangwook Cho] Cho Yong-byeong, Chairman of Shinhan Financial Group, said on the 1st, "Let us rebuild Shinhan as a first-class institution with the original founding mindset that always prioritizes customers and society."

On the occasion of the 19th anniversary of Shinhan Financial Group, Chairman Cho emphasized through a non-face-to-face commemorative ceremony broadcast on YouTube, "The value we upheld when founding Shinhan Bank in 1982, which became the foundation of the group, was 'newly, richly, warmly.'"

He first expressed gratitude to all Shinhan employees who have created the history of Shinhan as a leading financial group, saying, "Since Shinhan's new start as a comprehensive financial group in 2001, the words 'first' and 'best' have always accompanied us." However, he also confessed, "Although it is a meaningful day to celebrate the founding, there is a heavy feeling in my heart." This is because there is a painful reflection that Shinhan has not properly met the increasingly high expectations of customers and the serious demands of society amid the rapidly changing financial environment.

In response, Chairman Cho stressed, "For Shinhan to be truly recognized as first-class, we must recall the original intention at the time of founding and the determination at the launch of the holding company and rebuild completely anew."

He defined one of the three core values, 'newly,' as 'innovation' through Digital Transformation. This means completely changing business models, work processes, organizations, and individual evaluation systems centered on digital technology.

Chairman Cho said, "Shinhan is now at a crossroads deciding whether to leap forward based on past success or decline amid change. If we fail to open a new path through digital by mobilizing all the group's capabilities and resources, Shinhan's future will no longer exist," and urged, "With the desperate resolve that 'if we don't change, we die,' let us surely succeed in Shinhan's digital transformation."

He also called for redefining everything from product and service development to sales and after-sales management from the customer's perspective. Chairman Cho said, "Through the investment product incident, we have painfully experienced that the trust built over a long time with customers can collapse in an instant," and urged, "Starting again from the customer, always make 'Customer First' the highest standard of conduct."

Furthermore, he proposed reestablishing the role of finance expected by society amid the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Since Shinhan started with the spirit of financial patriotism (Geumyung Boguk, 金融報國), which means 'repaying the nation through finance,' the last value Chairman Cho mentioned is 'warm finance,' which means exerting a positive influence to coexist and develop with our society.

Finally, Chairman Cho emphasized, "Rebuilding Shinhan as a first-class institution is by no means easy, but it is a task that must be accomplished," and said, "Let us cherish the proud history of the past 19 years embroidered with 'first' and 'best,' and now, let us all start anew toward 'First-class Shinhan.'"

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