After 26 Years of Merger... Woori Bank Integrates Commercial and Hanil Bank Alumni Associations
by Oh Yukyo
Published 05 Jan.2025 10:20(KST)
Integration of Dongwoohoe to Eliminate Internal Factionalism
Aiming to Revitalize Organizational Culture through Integration
Ethical Standards to Be Revised Alongside Dongwoohoe Integration
Woori Bank has integrated the alumni associations of retired employees from Sanghae Bank and Hanil Bank to eliminate factionalism within the company. This marks the first such integration in 26 years since the two banks merged.
On the 5th, Woori Bank announced that it signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the integration of the Sanghae and Hanil Bank alumni associations immediately after its founding anniversary ceremony on the 3rd. Attending the event were Kangwon, president of the Sanghae Bank alumni association, and Yoo Jung-geun, president of the Hanil Bank alumni association, along with Lim Jong-ryong, chairman of Woori Financial Group, and Jung Jin-wan, president of Woori Bank.
The alumni associations are voluntary groups formed by retired employees for the purpose of fellowship and mutual support. The Sanghae Bank and Hanil Bank alumni associations were each established in the 1970s and continued to operate separately under the names "Hyojadong Alumni Association" and "Euljiro Alumni Association" respectively, even after the 1999 merger. Former employees of Woori Bank have maintained the practice of joining different alumni associations based on their original bank affiliation after retirement.
However, in recent years, factional culture based on original bank affiliation has been identified as a factor hindering organizational development, and the need for retired employees to participate together in a new alumni association has grown, making integration a pressing issue. In response, Chairman Lim Jong-ryong launched the "Corporate Culture Innovation Task Force (TF)" and actively promoted the integration of the alumni associations in cooperation with former bank presidents.
This alumni association integration is part of Woori Bank's efforts to revitalize the organization, focusing on eliminating factional culture and strengthening unity among junior employees. Additionally, Woori Financial plans to use this milestone to remove distinctions of original bank affiliation from all personnel records and revise ethical standards, conducting company-wide awareness improvement initiatives concurrently.
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