Yoon Jong-won, CEO of Industrial Bank of Korea, Mentions 'Change' Eight Times in Inaugural Address

Inauguration Ceremony 27 Days After Appointment
Mention of Innovative Finance and Sound Management

Yoon Jong-won, President of IBK Industrial Bank of Korea (second from the right), is moving to his seat after completing a joint business agreement ceremony to strengthen support for debt adjustment for low-income households with overdue mortgage loans at the banking sector inclusive finance performance review meeting held on the 22nd at the Seoul Banking Hall. Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Haeyoung] Yoon Jong-won, President of IBK Industrial Bank of Korea, mentioned 'innovative finance' and 'proper management' as his inaugural remarks. He expressed his ambition to support innovative small and medium enterprises, which are the driving force of economic growth, and to maintain customer trust. In his inaugural speech, he emphasized the need for IBK to break away from exclusivism and transform itself anew amid the rapidly changing financial environment, mentioning 'change' eight times, indicating his intention to pursue internal innovation.

On the 29th, Yoon held an inauguration ceremony at the Euljiro headquarters in Jung-gu, Seoul, and took office as the 26th president of IBK. It was 27 days after his appointment on the 3rd, during which he was blocked by the union's strike against the appointment of an external president and could not go to work outside.

He said, "We must innovatively change ourselves to meet the diverse financial needs of small and medium enterprises," adding, "We will sufficiently supply venture capital to entrepreneurs with creativity and ideas and establish a customized support system according to each growth stage." To this end, he plans to improve the credit risk assessment system focusing on companies' technological capabilities and future potential.

He also mentioned proper management. Yoon stated, "Even world-class companies lose customers' trust if they break the law or exhibit unethical behavior," and added, "We will establish common-sense management in all areas such as personnel and organizational culture, and enhance transparency and predictability in organizational operations to maintain the bank's trust."

He urged employees to prioritize trust and competence. Referring to lessons from the KIKO and Derivative Linked Fund (DLF) incidents, he emphasized the need to prioritize customers when selling financial products and managing risks to increase trust and develop skills.

Throughout his inaugural speech, Yoon repeatedly mentioned the necessity of 'change.' As a bureaucrat-turned-president, this signals his determination to carry out reforms and innovations across systems, institutions, and culture, which would be difficult if he were an internal candidate. This aligns with President Moon Jae-in's remark earlier this month regarding the IBK president appointment: "If change is needed, bring in external talent; if stability is needed, promote from within."

He said, "We will establish transparent and fair personnel standards and create a system where each employee is evaluated based on performance and capability," adding, "Requests through favoritism, school ties, or regionalism will be strictly dealt with according to laws and internal regulations, and disadvantages will inevitably follow."

Furthermore, Yoon emphasized, "For IBK to become a stronger bank, it must abandon exclusivism and adopt an open attitude," and stressed, "We will create an organization full of change and vitality by freely discussing diverse opinions and, when necessary, fully utilizing external expertise."