Woori Bank President Apologizes Again for Embezzlement Incident, Promises Strengthened Internal Controls and Training

Jo Byung-kyu, President of Woori Bank, on the 19th, regarding the recent embezzlement incident involving a Woori Bank employee amounting to 10 billion KRW, said, "I sincerely apologize for causing concern to our customers and the public due to this incident," and added, "We will take this as an opportunity to strengthen internal controls to prevent such incidents from happening again."

Jo Byung-kyu, President of Woori Bank, is moving to attend the 'Financial Services Commission Chairman-Bank Presidents Meeting' held on the 1st at Dalgaebi in Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

President Jo made these remarks during a meeting with the press at a gathering between Lee Bok-hyun, Governor of the Financial Supervisory Service, and domestic bank presidents held at the Bankers' Hall in Jung-gu, Seoul, in the morning. He stated, "We will thoroughly investigate and improve any shortcomings to prevent recurrence."

He continued, "The fact that this incident could have been prevented internally but was not stopped at the source indicates that there were still deficiencies," emphasizing, "We will ensure that such incidents do not recur through not only the internal control system but also effective training for all executives and employees."

Earlier, at Woori Bank's Gimhae branch in Gyeongnam, a deputy-level employee embezzled approximately 10 billion KRW of customer loan funds. It is reported that the employee manipulated customer loan applications and deposit-related documents from early this year until recently, diverting the loan funds to invest in virtual currency and overseas futures. The estimated investment loss he incurred is about 6 billion KRW.

Woori Bank detected the incident through its internal control system. The Credit Supervision Department monitored and identified abnormal signs during the loan process, requested explanations from Mr. A, and forwarded transaction details to the team leader in charge for verification. Subsequently, Mr. A turned himself in to the police.

Meanwhile, Governor Lee, during the meeting, cited performance-oriented practices as a cause of repeated financial accidents and urged efforts for improvement. He stated, "Top executives must foster a culture where any employee can freely raise concerns if they detect the possibility of incomplete sales or financial accidents," and added, "The performance reward system that favors short-term results even if internal controls or risk management are neglected to achieve sales targets must be fundamentally changed."