Seo Jeong-hak, President of IBK Investment & Securities, "Value Up through Expansion of Digital and ESG Management"

Seo Jeong-hak, President of IBK Investment & Securities, announced on the 3rd, "We declare the management goal for 2025 as Value-Up IBKS through the expansion of digital and ESG management, and aim to make a new leap forward."

In his New Year's address, President Seo said, "This year, amid intensifying competition, we must seek differentiated strategies to enhance corporate value."

To implement this, President Seo stated that four core tasks will be pursued. First, he emphasized leading digital innovation. He said, "We will continuously introduce AI-based digital technologies led by IBKS Wings and innovate non-face-to-face channels to provide customers with differentiated experiences and expand our sales base. By internalizing generative AI to shorten processing times and eliminate operational risks, we must establish ourselves as a trusted digital-leading securities firm for investors."

He plans to enhance competitiveness through scale-up. President Seo said, "We will strengthen our existing capabilities in policy financing for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), further expand synergy results with institutions under memorandums of understanding (MOUs), and actively nurture new businesses such as non-performing loans (NPLs) as cash cows."

Along with this, he expressed determination to actively participate in acquisition financing and advisory services such as corporate succession and SME M&A activation, and to solidify the identity as a specialized securities firm for SMEs through corporate finance rebuilding.

Strengthening productivity through organizational improvement was also presented as a core task. President Seo said, "I hope each branch office will establish specialized strategies tailored to their characteristics and provide customized customer services to maximize retail sales competitiveness. We will also enhance the effectiveness of internal controls by introducing a customized accountability structure specialized for the financial investment industry and IBK’s organizational culture."

He also emphasized establishing a foundation for sustainable growth through ESG management. President Seo said, "We will practice carbon neutrality by expanding ESG-related funds and eco-friendly investment products such as carbon emission trading, securing both public interest and profitability. We will also practice ESG responsible management by enhancing shareholder value through gradual share buybacks."

He did not forget to express gratitude for the hard work and efforts of the employees. Reflecting on the past year, President Seo evaluated that thanks to the dedication of all employees, IBK Investment & Securities achieved meaningful results last year. Above all, he highly appreciated that most of the inherent large and small issues over the past two years were resolved, and no major financial accidents or complaints occurred.

He said, "Performance improved with total assets up 23%, capital scale up 12%, and net profit increased by 44% compared to the previous year. We also achieved 4 billion KRW in new synergy revenue and strengthened capital soundness through the issuance of new capital securities, making it a successful year."