Lee Bok-hyun, Governor of the Financial Supervisory Service, strongly criticized the allegations of improper loans to relatives of former Woori Financial Group Chairman Sohn Tae-seung on the 20th.
At an executive meeting that day, Governor Lee pointed out, "Considering the behavior shown by Woori Financial Group, it has reached a level where it is difficult to trust any longer." It was reported that he ordered a strict response according to principles regarding the allegations of improper loans to relatives of former Chairman Sohn.
Governor Lee stated, "The improper loan case at Woori Bank involves hundreds of billions of won in improper loans executed to relatives of a former chairman with autocratic authority, resulting in a large-scale insolvency. This should have been recognized in advance through the bank's internal systems and actively addressed through strict internal audits," he emphasized.
He added, "If the institution itself could not uncover the problems due to its limitations, it should have promptly requested the financial authorities or investigative agencies, which have account tracking and inspection rights, to clarify the facts."
Governor Lee further criticized, "However, Woori Bank defended the former chairman's statement that they were unaware of the loans to relatives, rationalizing the failure to report to the Financial Supervisory Service by claiming there was no clear illegal activity other than negligence in screening."
He then urged, "The bank's operational departments must strive for a thorough investigation of this incident and prevention of recurrence," adding, "Financial companies exhibiting similar behavior will face strict standards and strong legal authority to the extent that they will not be able to maintain a foothold in the market."
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