Jung Jinwan, CEO of Woori Bank: "Strengthening Our Role as a Productive Financial Partner Through Corporate Succession Support"

Productive Corporate Succession Forum Held at Woori Bank Headquarters on June 1
Targeting Support for 500 Companies Annually, 2,500 Over Five Years
"Supporting Succession for 100 Companies Will Induce Approximately KRW 500 Billion in Production

Jung Jinwan, President of Woori Bank, stated, "Corporate succession is not merely an issue for individual companies; it is a crucial economic challenge directly tied to maintaining employment for staff, preserving technical expertise, and ensuring the stability of supply chains within the industry." He added, "We will strengthen our role as a productive financial partner to support the sustainable growth of businesses."

On June 1, President Jung held a press conference on "Productive Corporate Succession" at Woori Bank's headquarters in Jung-gu, Seoul, and emphasized these points. He considers stable corporate succession for small and medium-sized enterprises to be a core task of productive finance and plans to reinforce a one-stop support system that covers legal, tax, and financial matters.

President Jung said, "Woori Bank is focusing on supporting productive corporate succession so that companies can avoid closure or business downsizing, ensuring that jobs, technology, and industrial foundations are sustained in a stable manner." He continued, "We will provide a one-stop solution covering legal, tax, and financial services by collaborating with Kim & Chang, Samil PwC, and Korea Technology Finance Corporation."

Productive corporate succession refers to support measures aimed at preventing business closure, discontinuation, or downsizing through effective succession planning. It encompasses medium- to long-term financial support and consulting services to ensure employment stability for staff, enhance supply chain stability within industries, and preserve the technical expertise of small and medium-sized companies.

In February, Woori Bank became the first in the banking sector to establish the "Corporate Succession Support Center," a dedicated organization composed of accounting, tax, and M&A experts. The center reviews various options, including succession by family members, succession by employees, and third-party sales, and provides tailored consulting by comprehensively diagnosing tax, legal, and financial issues.

In April, Woori Bank signed a "Financial Business Agreement for M&A to Promote Corporate Succession and Technological Innovation" with Korea Technology Finance Corporation. Woori Bank made a special contribution of 1.3 billion won to provide guarantees totaling 43.8 billion won. The bank also signed agreements with Kim & Chang and Samil PwC to establish an integrated support system.

Since the establishment of the Corporate Succession Support Center, Woori Bank has signed corporate succession business agreements with a total of 554 companies. Among the representatives of these companies, those aged 50 to 69 accounted for 70.2%, and those aged 70 or older made up 20.5%. The proportion of those wishing to pass the business on to their children was highest at 52.7%, while 43.7% had not yet decided on a succession method.

So far, the center has presented roadmaps to 102 of these companies, including medium- to long-term succession strategy development, financial solutions linked to funding, and post-succession management stabilization. Of these, 77.5% developed strategies centered on succession to their children. For companies without successors or where child succession is difficult, alternative options such as MBO (Management Buyout) and EBO (Employee Buyout) are also being proposed.

Woori Finance Research Institute analyzed that if Woori Bank successfully facilitates family business succession for 100 companies annually over the next five years (totaling 500 companies), it would maintain employment for 10,000 people, preserve a sales base of 1.07 trillion won, generate an economic impact of 469.9 billion won in production inducement, and create 193.4 billion won in value-added effects.

Woori Bank aims to provide corporate succession consulting to 500 companies each year—more than 2,500 companies over the next five years—focusing on clients with strong employment and technical capabilities. Through this, the bank intends to extend the average lifespan of Korean companies, which currently falls short of 30 years, and foster century-old companies with robust employment and technical expertise.

At the press conference, the following topics were presented in order: ▲Current status of the Woori Bank Corporate Succession Support Center and direction for promoting productive corporate succession ▲Strategies for employee succession ecosystems by Japanese financial institutions (Woori Finance Research Institute) ▲Cases of family corporate succession disputes and legal risks (Kim & Chang) ▲Cases of third-party M&A among small and medium-sized enterprises (Samil PwC).

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.