Hwang Byung-woo, DGB Financial Chairman, Buys Company Shares After 8 Months... Initiates Value-Up Drive

Hwang Byung-woo, chairman of DGB Financial Group, purchased 10,000 shares of the company's stock again in June last year. Eight months ago, Chairman Hwang and other executives also bought company shares, signaling a commitment to responsible management. This move is interpreted as an intention to take the lead in enhancing corporate value, which has been emphasized most this year.

According to financial sources on the 17th, Chairman Hwang purchased 10,000 shares at 8,540 won each on the 15th. The number of shares he holds increased from 30,727 to 40,727. A DGB Financial Group official stated, “This share purchase signifies a commitment to practicing responsible management.”

Eight months ago, Chairman Hwang and former affiliate executives purchased a total of 160,000 shares on the market. Seven executives, excluding Chairman Hwang, bought 150,000 shares, while Chairman Hwang purchased 10,000 shares. This occurred ahead of iM Bank’s transition to a commercial bank and the renaming of affiliates. DGB Financial explained that it was an expression of the will to strengthen responsible management to advance as a nationwide bank.

Hwang Byung-woo, CEO of iM Bank, is speaking at the '2025 First Half Management Strategy Meeting' to achieve the New Year's management goals at the Daegu iM Bank headquarters on the 13th. Photo by iM Bank

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This recent share purchase appears to be an effort to further boost the recovering stock following the emergency martial law situation. DGB Financial Group’s stock price reached a new high since February last year at 9,330 won on March 3, just before the martial law, but fell to 8,170 won on the 2nd after the martial law. However, the closing price on the 16th was 8,870 won, indicating an upward trend.

This is also part of efforts to enhance shareholder value. Among undervalued financial stocks, DGB Financial’s shares are the lowest rated. As of the third quarter of last year, the average price-to-book ratio (PBR) of seven financial holding companies (KB, Shinhan, Hana, Woori, BNK, DGB, JB) was 0.43 times. The PBR is the market capitalization divided by capital (net assets). It indicates how many times a company’s net assets are traded per share, and a value below 1 means undervaluation. In particular, DGB Financial’s PBR is 0.25, the lowest among the seven major financial holding companies. Also, while the PBRs of the seven financial holding companies all rose compared to the end of 2023, thanks to the government’s value-up (corporate value enhancement) policy, DGB Financial’s increase (+0.03) was the smallest except for Hana Financial, which decreased (-0.02).

Chairman Hwang has also emphasized corporate value enhancement this year. At the iM Bank management strategy meeting on the 13th, he said, “To overcome this year’s challenging management environment, we must focus on three core tasks: soundness, pricing, and deposit procurement, and devote efforts to improving corporate value.”

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Since the beginning of the year, chairmen and executives of commercial financial holding companies have been actively purchasing company shares to enhance corporate value. On the 31st of last month, Ham Young-joo, chairman of Hana Financial Group, purchased 5,000 shares, and key executives including Vice Chairmen Kang Sung-mook and Lee Seung-yeol bought 7,400 shares. Since last month, KB Financial Group’s 11 executives, including Kim Jae-gwan, CEO of KB Kookmin Card, have purchased 5,084 shares. Six executives, including Shinhan Bank President Jung Sang-hyuk, also bought about 7,500 shares.

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