[New Year's Address] Yoon Jong-won, President of IBK Industrial Bank, "It's Time to Support SMEs and Serve as an Economic Catalyst"

Visiting Branches as First Schedule of New Year... Listening to On-site Voices
Presenting Five Key Focus Areas: COVID-19 Recovery Support, Innovative Finance, Sound Management, Digital, and Talent Management

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Sun-mi] On the 4th, Yoon Jong-won, President of IBK Industrial Bank of Korea, emphasized in his New Year's address, “The mission to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) remains unchanged, but IBK's role must evolve in line with the times,” adding, “Beyond serving as a lever for the national economy during the period of rapid growth and a pillar during economic crises, it is now time to play a role as a catalyst supporting the innovative growth of SMEs and enhancing the dynamism of the Korean economy.”

To this end, he outlined five key focus areas for 2021: ▲ Overcoming the COVID-19 crisis ▲ Realizing results in innovative finance ▲ Accelerating digital transformation ▲ Establishing trustworthy and sound management for customers ▲ People-centered talent management.

President Yoon urged, “Overcoming the COVID-19 crisis must remain the top priority this year,” and called for support to address the temporary liquidity crises faced by sound SMEs and small business owners, while encouraging structural improvements for companies experiencing ongoing difficulties through innovation consulting.

Furthermore, as one of the major projects in innovative finance, he announced the introduction of the “Financial Primary Care System,” which consolidates 60 years of SME finance expertise and enhances competitiveness through data and digital technology to comprehensively diagnose the health status of client companies and provide tailored prescriptions according to their situations. He also stated, “The MyData project will disrupt the competitive landscape of the financial industry,” urging that “this should be an opportunity to shift the financial support paradigm to data-driven customized financial consulting, and all employees must actively participate to prepare for these changes.”

He also proposed creating a more flexible and horizontal organizational culture through the ‘Organizational Culture Reconstruction Project,’ encouraging open communication and the pursuit of rational solutions without formality. Lastly, President Yoon emphasized, “We are beginning a new 60 years for IBK,” stating, “By establishing ‘innovative finance’ and ‘sound management,’ we will not only advance the bank and its employees but also support the growth of SMEs and customers, thereby enhancing the dynamism of the financial industry and the national economy.”

Meanwhile, President Yoon chose to visit a business site as his first schedule of the new year. Meeting with branch employees, he listened to voices from the field and urged strengthening support efforts to alleviate the difficulties faced by SMEs amid the prolonged COVID-19 situation.

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