Son Tae-seung, Chairman of Woori Financial Group, "We Will Regain Pride as the First and Best Financial Group" (Comprehensive)

Complete Privatization and 3rd Anniversary of Holding Company Reestablishment Mark 'Spectacular Takeoff'
Global Leading Financial Group and Digital Platform Company Future Blueprint
New Goals for Non-Banking M&A and Digital Transformation Presented

Woori Financial Group held its anniversary ceremony on the 11th at its headquarters in Hoehyeon-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul. Sohn Tae-seung, Chairman of Woori Financial Group, is delivering the anniversary speech.

"Reviving the 21-year history of the holding company’s establishment, let us reclaim the historic pride of being the first and best financial group in Korea, and realize the dream of becoming a globally leading financial group strong in digital innovation through creative breakthroughs."

Woori Financial Group, celebrating the 3rd anniversary of its complete privatization and holding company reestablishment, has announced a spectacular takeoff. Sohn Tae-seung, Chairman of Woori Financial Group, presented a future vision with the slogan ‘New Next, Next New (Always leading with newness),’ highlighting ▲Global Leading Financial Group ▲Digital Platform Company as key goals. To achieve this, he expressed his determination to fully commit to mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in the non-bank sector and digital transformation.

According to Woori Financial on the 12th, Chairman Sohn celebrated the successful complete privatization based on a history of continuous challenges and declared the restoration of the 21-year history of Korea’s first financial holding company at the 3rd anniversary ceremony held at the headquarters in Hoehyeon-dong, Seoul the day before.

The event was attended in person by Chairman Sohn, former chairmen, outside directors, key group executives, and representative employees from the MZ generation (Millennials + Generation Z). Considering the COVID-19 situation, about 1,000 employees participated remotely via the video conferencing application ‘Zoom’ and YouTube.

At the event, Chairman Sohn stated his ambition to "revive the 21-year history of the holding company’s establishment and reclaim the historic pride of being Korea’s first and best financial group." He also urged employees to "take pride in Woori Financial’s footsteps, which have led Korean finance, by restoring the history of Korea’s first financial holding company and the country’s largest financial group, starting from this year, the first year of complete privatization."

Chairman Sohn actively called for accelerating the group’s strengthening and enhancing the core business competitiveness of each subsidiary as a momentum from complete privatization. He emphasized, "While rapidly expanding a diverse portfolio including securities and insurance, we must elevate the status of all subsidiaries to the top level within their respective industries to maximize group profitability," adding, "In particular, we will strongly promote both quantitative and qualitative growth in the non-bank sector."

As Woori Financial’s new future, he pointed to the leap to a global leading financial group. Chairman Sohn said, "Let us realize the dream of becoming a ‘globally leading financial group strong in digital innovation’ through creative breakthroughs," and added, "We must devote all our capabilities to the digital transformation with the determination to reinvent ourselves as a digital platform company."

To achieve this vision, Chairman Sohn repeatedly urged employees to adopt a strong and agile attitude, likening it to ‘Gihojise (騎虎之勢, the momentum of riding a tiger)’ in the Year of the Tiger.

The anniversary ceremony was further illuminated by the attendance of all former chairmen of Woori Financial, emphasizing the significance of restoring the 21-year history since its founding. Former Chairman Hwang Young-ki, representing the former chairmen, encouraged the juniors by saying, "Beyond the mission of a national bank, please leap forward as the best financial group."

Meanwhile, Woori Financial Group’s stock price closed at 14,550 won the previous day, marking a 52-week high, coinciding with the 3rd anniversary of complete privatization and holding company reestablishment.

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