This article was published on Aug. 29, 2025, at 2:58 p.m. on ChosunBiz MoneyMove site.
Woori Financial Group will sell the Anseong Training Center located in Anseong, Gyeonggi Province. This decision comes after the bank initiated the sale of branches in the metropolitan area to improve its common equity tier 1 (CET1) ratio, followed by the decision to dispose of the training center that has been in use since the era of Hanil Bank. Previously, financial authorities approved Woori Bank's acquisition of Tongyang and ABL Life Insurance on the condition that idle real estate would be sold.
On the 29th, according to the investment bank (IB) industry, Woori Bank has decided to sell the Anseong Training Center and is undergoing the official bidding process. The sale involves 72,493 square meters of land in Anseong, Gyeonggi Province, and a building of 13,297.765 square meters. The price Woori Bank hopes to achieve from the sale is at least 40 billion won.
The Anseong Training Center became an asset owned by Woori Bank since the merger of commercial banks and Hanil Bank, when ownership was transferred in 1999. Since Woori Financial transitioned to a holding company system in 2019, the necessity for relocating the training center has increasingly been raised as more staff members need to be accommodated.
Woori Financial has recently decided to dispose of the training center after being unable to make a decision between expanding the training center and selling it. This conclusion seems to have been reached as Woori Investment & Securities was launched under Chairman Yim Jong-ryong, and following the acquisitions of TONGYANG Life Insurance and ABL Life Insurance. With the expansion of Woori Investment & Securities and the incorporation of insurance firms as affiliates, it appears challenging to continue using the Anseong Training Center.
The decision to sell the Anseong Training Center is also interpreted as being influenced by the ongoing sale of idle real estate to improve capital ratios. Woori Bank is examining the sale of closed branches within the metropolitan area, as well as an employee-exclusive golf course and the Myeongdong Digital Tower. Recently, TONGYANG Life Insurance, which was acquired by Woori Financial, is disposing of a substantial number of operational real estate assets, including major branch buildings and training centers nationwide.
Selling real estate is the most practical means to immediately increase the capital ratio. The capital ratio increases as net income or retained earnings rise. The gains or losses from the disposal of tangible assets are reflected in retained earnings. If the sale of real estate, including the Anseong Training Center, proceeds as planned, it is estimated that funds close to 2 trillion won can be secured.
An industry insider noted, "The necessity of disposing of the Anseong Training Center has been raised consistently since the past and has been actively discussed since this year, and ultimately plans are in place to complete the transaction by the second half of the year."