Jeong Jin-wan, head of Woori Bank, said in his New Year's address that "the foundation for innovation laid last year must be turned into actual results this year," emphasizing a management strategy centered on customer-driven growth.
Jeong said in his Jan. 2 New Year's address that "last year Woori Bank focused on laying the groundwork for future growth through fundamental innovation and strengthening core business competitiveness." He said the bank made capital adequacy management its top priority and pushed asset rebalancing, while strengthening platform competitiveness by expanding strategic partnerships, including Samsung Wallet Money, and advancing Won Biz Plaza (an integrated financial platform for corporations).
He also mentioned changes in the organization and systems. He said the bank enhanced frontline autonomy and efficiency by reorganizing the headquarters business groups and abolishing the sales VG (sales group unit performance management) system, and improved fairness and transparency in personnel and evaluation systems by introducing absolute KPI evaluations (assessments based on goal attainment rather than relative ranking) and disclosing CDPs (career development plans) for promotees. He cited the bank-wide manualization of tasks and deploying smart cash management machines across branches as key results that strengthened both operational efficiency and internal controls.
Building on this foundation, Jeong set Woori Bank's management goal for this year as "growth with customers, a leap for the future." He said, "The starting point of those results is the customer," laying out four strategic directions: expanding customers, strengthening revenue, future growth, and responsible management.
First, he said the bank will make expanding the customer base the top priority across the bank. The plan is to broaden customer touchpoints by discovering new business models and to continuously expand the customer base, the bank's fundamental strength. He added that the bank will enhance profitability by turning transactions with customers into solid and sustainable results through expanding productive finance and strengthening collaboration with affiliates.
He also emphasized changes in the work environment and responsible management. Jeong said, "Sales channels and work processes are changing rapidly," and noted that with the implementation of absolute evaluations for individuals, each employee must build competitiveness to keep up with the changes and apply them to their work. He also said, "Results that deviate from the basics and principles inevitably turn into risks," warning against the risks of financial accidents and information leaks and stressing that the basics and principles must be upheld in all tasks.
Jeong said, "2026 could be the last chance to narrow the gap with rival banks," adding that the choices and execution this year will determine future competitiveness. He then urged, "Let us all join forces to grow with customers and make this the first year of a leap for the future."