Woori Financial Group Chairman Yim Jong-yong bought 5,000 shares of the company's stock, signaling a commitment to lifting corporate value. The purchase, coming as the group pushes ahead with the merger of Tongyang Life Insurance and ABL Life Insurance, is read as a show of confidence that Woori Financial will raise its competitiveness a notch through its non-banking businesses.
Yim bought the 5,000 Woori Financial shares on the open market on the 24th of last month, according to financial industry sources on the 2nd. The purchase, worth about 159 million won, raised Yim's holdings to 15,000 shares.
The purchase came just as Woori Financial completed the process of making Tongyang Life Insurance a wholly owned subsidiary and formally announced plans to merge Tongyang Life with ABL Life. The group is moving quickly to strengthen its non-banking operations. It completed a rights offering for Woori Investment & Securities in May and began work in earnest on integrating its life insurers last month. In banking, the group front-loaded 91% of its annual target for productive finance lending into the first half. Woori Financial posted net profit of more than 1 trillion won in the second quarter, showing a rebound in earnings.
Fifty-six people, including chief executives and other executives at 16 subsidiaries, joined Yim in buying shares. "This is a firm expression of our commitment to responsible management and to supporting the share price," a Woori Financial official said. "Building on secured growth momentum, we will faithfully carry out our value-up plan to resolve the undervaluation and strengthen shareholder returns." Yim will also personally lead investor relations presentations for European investors this month.
