Woori Financial Chairman Lim, 55 Other Executives Buy Shares
Key Takeaways
- •Chairman Lim Jong-ryong bought 5,000 Woori Financial shares on Aug. 24.
- •A total of 56 senior executives, including leaders from subsidiaries and key affiliates, purchased company stock.
- •Woori Financial recently completed its acquisition of Dongyang Life Insurance and began integrating it with ABL Life Insurance in August.
- •The group has been expanding nonbanking businesses, including a securities unit capital increase in May, to diversify earnings.
- •Woori Financial posted a record second-quarter net profit of more than 1 trillion won and Lim is scheduled to meet European investors this month.
Woori Financial Group Chairman Lim Jong-ryong and 55 other senior executives have purchased company shares as the group expands its nonbanking operations and integrates its two life insurers, a move the company framed as a signal of management commitment while it reshapes its earnings mix beyond banking.
Lim bought 5,000 shares on Aug. 24, shortly after Woori Financial completed its acquisition of Dongyang Life Insurance and announced plans to merge it with ABL Life Insurance, the company said Wednesday.
The other buyers included the heads of Woori’s 16 subsidiaries and executives from the holding company, Woori Bank and other key affiliates.
Woori Financial said the purchases demonstrate management’s commitment to increasing shareholder value.
The group has been strengthening its nonbanking businesses to diversify earnings, a priority for South Korean financial holding companies that have been seeking steadier profit sources alongside core lending. It completed a capital increase at its securities unit in May and began integrating Dongyang Life and ABL Life in August.
Woori Financial posted a record quarterly net profit of more than 1 trillion won ($729.8 million) in the second quarter, crossing the threshold for the first time.
Lim is scheduled to meet European investors this month, following investor meetings in Asia in June.
