Woori Bank President Jeong Jinwan Granted One-Year Term Extension

Recognition for restoring profitability through improved capital ratios
Expanded role for the bank's Executive Candidate Recommendation Committee, including in evaluating management performance
Final appointment to be confirmed at shareholders' meeting later this month

Woori Bank President Jeong Jin-wan has secured a one-year extension to his term. It is the first reappointment decision as the heads of the five major commercial banks approach the end of their terms at year-end. In addition to restoring profitability through improvements in capital ratios and delivering solid results, he appears to have been highly rated for preventing damage during the recent hacking incidents that have hit the financial sector.

Woori Financial Group said on November 13 that its Subsidiary CEO Candidate Recommendation Committee had met and decided to extend President Jeong's term by one year, through the end of 2027.

The decision reflects the "two-plus-one-year" principle, under which a bank president's performance is evaluated at the end of the standard two-year term to determine whether to grant an additional one-year extension. President Jeong was given a two-year term when he was appointed in November 2024.

This succession process involved a range of reviews by the holding company, the bank's Executive Candidate Recommendation Committee, and external professional institutions. The bank's committee directly evaluated President Jeong's management performance, and its chair participated in the holding company's committee to present an opinion. Woori Financial said it had proactively incorporated the financial authorities' recommended best practices for corporate governance and measures to advance governance into the management succession plans for the group's subsidiary CEOs.

Woori Financial's committee cited the following as President Jeong's key achievements: restoring profitability by improving capital ratios; expanding platform businesses such as Samsung Wallet; smoothly advancing productive and inclusive finance; and strengthening capabilities to prepare for the future, including through AI data centers.

He was particularly highly rated for raising the common equity Tier 1 ratio, which had been lower than those of rival banks when he took office, to the second-highest level among commercial banks, securing room for the bank to grow. Building on this, the bank revived growth in won-denominated loans and narrowed its performance gap with rival banks, with net profit exceeding KRW 1 trillion in the third quarter of this year.

Efforts to strengthen the bank's future competitiveness also supported his reappointment. These included expanding its customer base through platform businesses such as the Samsung Wallet Money service, promoting productive and inclusive finance, and pursuing plans to build an AI data center in Namyangju.

A representative of Woori Financial's committee said, "This decision followed a comprehensive review by the bank's committee and the holding company's committee." The representative added, "We concluded that President Jeong will turn the expanded capital capacity into stronger business performance and deliver tangible growth, a recovery in profitability, and a narrower gap with other banks over the next year."

President Jeong is expected to continue as head of Woori Bank through December 31, 2027, after completing the final appointment process at the bank's shareholders' meeting scheduled for the end of this month.

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