Hamyungju, Hana Financial Chairman: "'A Village Chicken Who Dropped Out of High School' Can Also Become Chairman... Raising 'Gaecheon-yong' Is Hana's Culture"

37th Hankyung CEO Jeju Summer Forum Lecture
"Hana Financial is where hardworking and capable employees become leaders"

Ham Young-joo, Chairman of Hana Financial Group, said on the 11th, "Even I, a 'country bumpkin who graduated from a night college,' became the chairman of Hana Financial. Working hard and making capable employees into leaders is the corporate culture of Hana Financial."

Hamyungju, Chairman of Hana Financial Group, is giving a lecture at the '2024 Korea Economic Association CEO Jeju Summer Forum' on the 11th.
[Photo by Moon Chaeseok]

Chairman Ham made these remarks during a lecture at the '2024 Korea Economic Association CEO Jeju Summer Forum' held by the Korea Economic Association at Lotte Hotel Jeju in Seogwipo City on the same day.

Attendees at the forum included Chairman Ham, Ryu Jin, Chairman of the Korea Economic Association, Lee Jang-han, Chairman of Chong Kun Dang, Kim Sun-gyu, Chairman of Hoban Group, Nam Myung-geun, CEO of Korea Business Finance, Kim Ho-young, CEO of CareOne, Lee Tae-young, Chairman and CEO of Taejun Pharmaceutical, and Kim Chang-beom, Executive Vice Chairman of the Korea Economic Association.

The 50-minute lecture by Chairman Ham was titled "Changes and Innovations Hana Financial is Preparing." He stated that IT companies such as Naver and Kakao are also competitors of financial companies. Hana Financial is engaged in activities such as token securities issuance (STO) alternative exchanges, fintech (finance + technology) investments, and mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in the non-banking sector.

Chairman Ham emphasized that even in the "Artificial Intelligence (AI) era," "finance is ultimately about people." He shared his experience of embracing various stakeholders, including labor unions, during the integration process with Korea Exchange Bank, emphasizing "people first." He stressed, "Financial companies have no factories or chimneys, only people, so the future of finance depends on how we nurture those people."

Hamyung Joo, Chairman of Hana Financial Group, is giving a lecture at the '2024 Korea Economic Association CEO Jeju Summer Forum' on the 11th.
[Photo by Moon Chaeseok]

He shared the secret of how he, born as the son of a poor farmer, became the chairman of Hana Financial. Introducing himself as someone who came this far solely through "sales in the field," he emphasized that Hana Financial's corporate culture is about enabling "dragons to rise from the small streams."

Chairman Ham said, "What is certain is that I firmly captured the hearts of employees and customers, and because they helped me, I achieved good results and recognition wherever I went. Even though my nickname is 'country bumpkin' and people say I look rustic, I became chairman, so creating a (people-centered) corporate culture is absolutely necessary."

He stated that he will transform Hana Financial's organization into a "customer-centered, field-centered" one. He summarized the new talent qualities of Hana Financial Group as "warmth, courage, and motivation."

He added, "Although it is said to be difficult for dragons to rise from small streams these days, I gave the message to our members that 'I also have a chance.' Even in the AI era, it is important to win people's hearts through character, humanity, and humility."

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