**[New Year’s Address] Lim Jong-ryong, Chairman of Woori Financial Group**
Lim Jong-ryong, the chairman of Woori Financial Group, announced that the company will operate under an emergency management system this year. The focus will be on responding to domestic and international uncertainties and restoring the group’s trust. To achieve this, Chairman Lim introduced three strategic directions for the new year: establishing an ethical corporate culture, enhancing competitiveness and risk management capabilities, and securing a foundation for growth.
In his New Year’s address on the 2nd, Chairman Lim stated, “Despite efforts to improve various systems and controls to prevent any blind spots in our internal control system, we caused concern among our customers with painful incidents. We must take this opportunity, which feels like our last, to take steps towards restoring trust with the determination to start anew.”
The management goals for the new year are ‘Trusted Woori Financial, Innovation in Internal Control, Strengthening Core Competencies, and Securing a Launchpad for Growth.’ Chairman Lim explained, “We have embedded the intrinsic value of ‘trust’ in finance deeply within us and have a strong will to transform Woori Financial into a trusted institution, which is reflected in our group goals.”
Additionally, he declared that this year will be operated under the group’s emergency management system. Chairman Lim noted, “It is a time where thorough preparation for internal and external uncertainties is just as important as efforts to restore trust,” emphasizing the need to maintain strong responsiveness even in an uncertain environment.
As a strategic direction, Chairman Lim first proposed “establishing an ethical corporate culture.” He stated, “We will fundamentally innovate the group’s internal control system,” and stressed the need for continuous improvement of related systems to ensure efficient integration of internal controls in all business processes. He added, “Most importantly, we must enhance individual ethical awareness, cultivate the will to practice, and properly establish an ethical corporate culture.”
He also emphasized the ‘competitiveness and risk management capabilities’ of core businesses in banking and non-banking subsidiaries. Chairman Lim stated, “In essential business areas such as corporate finance, capital markets, global, and wealth management, we must strengthen our basic abilities and make substantial improvements.” He continued, “We must be able to predict and prepare for even unseen risk factors with a broad perspective,” committing to fulfilling promises with shareholders and the market through precise capital adequacy and liquidity management.
Securing a “foundation for growth” through portfolio expansion and group synergy was also presented as a major strategic direction. Chairman Lim said, “The trends in the financial market change rapidly by the minute, making it difficult even to predict the direction,” emphasizing the need to seamlessly integrate diverse portfolios such as banking, cards, capital, and securities into customers’ daily lives while thoroughly preparing for challenges in new financial areas.
He also urged Woori Financial employees to adopt two mindsets. Chairman Lim stressed, “We must have ‘perseverance’ in achieving our goals,” encouraging employees to face problems directly with courage, continuously seek solutions with determination, and never give up. He added, “We must share warm ‘warmth’ within and outside the group,” calling for mutual consideration and cooperation based on strong ethics and principles.
Reflecting on the past year, Chairman Lim evaluated it as having both good and challenging moments, describing it with the phrase “tumultuous.” He cited accomplishments such as the launch of Woori Investment & Securities, record-high results, inclusion in the Korea Value-Up Index, and the release of the New One Banking. He also self-assessed the group’s social roles as positive, mentioning initiatives like the Goodwill Store and the Woori Rookie Project.