Chief Executive Officer Jeong Sang-cheol of Hankook Capital said in a New Year's address on Jan. 2 that, "Based on a clear vision and meticulous growth strategies, we will achieve external growth toward 1 trillion won in asset and qualitative growth with substance at the same time."
Jeong said, "Last year we faced not only constraints in the business environment such as high interest rates and tighter regulations, but also rough waves in the financial market, including breach of trust by financial companies, improper lending, and large-scale personal information leaks," adding, "Global economic uncertainty and financial market volatility are no longer temporary issues to solve, but the foundation of corporate management, demanding more advanced capabilities from us."
Jeong said, "If we improve across the board the core indicators of corporate credit evaluation—profitability, soundness, and capital adequacy—and lift our credit rating by one notch, it will lead to a reduction in funding expense and an expansion of safe asset investments," adding, "Through this, a virtuous cycle of growth will be established in which stronger soundness and increased profitability move in tandem."
Jeong went on to emphasize, "To fulfill the responsibilities and obligations commensurate with external expansion, a tightly structured internal system must support us," and, "Based on refining an internal control system that can proactively respond to changes in laws and regulations, and clarifying roles and responsibilities by organization through the introduction of an accountability structure, we must continue consumer protection, information protection, and clean, ethical management."
Jeong also said, "Let's strengthen platform competitiveness with fully non-face-to-face loans and remittances and innovate our work processes through advanced artificial intelligence (AI) and robotic process automation (RPA) to achieve efficient, solid management." He added, "Furthermore, if we activate a new growth engine that breaks the existing mold through multifaceted business expansion such as M&A, we will be able to generate leaping results that surpass the past."