Woori Financial Chairman Buys 5,000 More Shares in Push for Higher Corporate Value

Woori Financial Group said on September 2 that Chairman Lim Jong-ryong purchased 5,000 shares of Woori Financial Holdings on the open market on August 24, lifting his personal stake from 10,000 shares to 15,000 shares. It was his first additional purchase since September 2023, roughly three years ago, and comes as the group seeks to reinforce its commitment to lifting corporate value and practicing responsible management.

The purchase followed the roughly four-month process of turning Dongyang Life Insurance into a wholly owned subsidiary and formally integrating it with ABL Life, a deal that rounded out Woori's push to build a fuller non-bank insurance lineup. Lim had previously bought 10,000 shares in September 2023, about six months into his tenure, when the stock traded near 12,000 won and its price had been sluggish.

Based on the closing price of 34,550 won on September 1, Lim's enlarged holding is now worth roughly 518 million won. Woori Financial shares have climbed steadily since November of last year and gained about 25% over the five months to late February alone, a rise the group attributes to its corporate value program and progress on group-wide banking strategy.

Lim was not alone in the buying. A group official said 56 executives across Woori Financial, including the heads of all 16 subsidiaries and senior officers at the holding company and bank, purchased shares of their own accord around the same time, in what the group described as a broad show of confidence in its outlook.

A Woori Financial representative said having the entire leadership, led by Chairman Lim, buy shares together is a clear expression of commitment to responsible management and share-price support, according to the company. The official added that the group intends to faithfully carry out its value-up plan to meet market expectations and shareholder demands.

The move comes as Woori posts solid results: the group's quarterly net profit topped 1 trillion won earlier this year, with growth spread across both banking and non-banking operations. The bank arm had already achieved 91% of its annual target for productive-finance lending by mid-year, while the non-bank side completed a capital increase at its securities unit in May and finalized the life insurance merger in August.

Lim is scheduled to hold an investor relations event in Europe later this month to brief overseas investors on the group's profitability gains and future management direction, following a similar roadshow in Asia in June.