New President Vows to Turn IBK into Financial Partner, Make Improvements to Industrial Structure

IBK President Jang Min-young delivers a speech at his inauguration ceremony at the IBK headquarters in Jung-gu of Seoul on Feb. 20. (Photo: IBK)

IBK announced that it held an inauguration ceremony for its 28th President Jang Min-young at its headquarters in Eulji-ro, Seoul on Feb. 20.

“Burdens on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are on the uptick amidst a complex crisis of low growth and a major industrial transformation,” IBK President Jang Min-young emphasized during his inauguration speech.

“IBK must leap forward to become a financial partner that takes the lead in making an improvement to Korea’s industrial structure, going beyond staying as a mere supplier of funds.”

Jang announced the full-scale launch of the IBK Productive Finance Project, which aims to invest 300 trillion won by 2030 driven by the Korean government’s productive finance initiative.

IBK will significantly expand financial support for innovative companies and emerging future industries such as AI, semiconductors, and energy, Jang added.

Jang also laid out plans to strengthen customized finance across the corporate lifecycle and innovate the credit evaluation system to better reflect technological capabilities and growth potential.

Additionally, Jang mentioned expanding capital market functions through the IBK National Growth Fund Task Force, which will leverage the combined capabilities of IBK Group.

Furthermore, Jang expressed his commitment to achieving balanced regional development and inclusive and fair finance.

He added that IBK will support regional industrial ecosystems tailored to the 5-Pole and 3-Special Zone System and provide comprehensive assistance — including low-interest refinancing loans, debt restructurings and management consulting — through a 75-trillion-won support policy for small business owners to facilitate their practical recovery.

“I will transform IBK into an AI-powered financial institution,” Jang continued.

He explained that the bank would integrate vast corporate financial data with AI to advance its analysis, screening, and soundness management systems, while providing hyper-personalized digital financial services.

“The most fundamental competitiveness of a financial institution is customer trust,” Jang said. He vowed to preemptively manage even unseen risks by strengthening financial consumer protection, internal controls, and information security systems.

Meanwhile, as one of his first official duties, Jang visited the IBK branch in Seoul – the branch with the highest number of visiting customers.

He demonstrated his commitment to achieving tangible change and results through field-oriented management such as encouraging employees in the field and listening directly to their voices.

Launch of KOSDAQ Revitalization Task Force

IBK announced on Mar. 11 that it established the IBK KOSDAQ Revitalization Task Force and has begun its full-scale operations to alleviate information asymmetry in the KOSDAQ market and promote the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises and venture startups.

This task force aims to broaden the foundation for corporate fundraising by increasing investors’ access to information through the expanded publication of research reports targeting KOSDAQ-listed companies and prospective IPO firms as well as by linking domestic and international support for IR activities.

First, IBK will expand opportunities for communications between investors and companies by holding joint IBK Financial Group IR events for KOSDAQ-listed companies twice — in May and December.

In addition, IBK plans to publish a policy report aimed at revitalizing the KOSDAQ market by carrying out a survey on difficulties such as attracting investment and corporate promotion among approximately 1,600 KOSDAQ-listed companies currently doing business with IBK.

Winning Carbon Management Honors Club Prize at 2025 CDP Korea Awards

IBK announced that it simultaneously won two awards — the Carbon Management Honors Club and Carbon Management Sector Honors Prizes at the 2025 CDP Korea Awards, presented by the global ESG rating agency, the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), on Mar. 10.

CDP is a global ESG rating agency that systematically evaluates and discloses environmental management information such as climate change strategies of over 24,000 companies worldwide.

IBK was selected for Leadership A, the highest rating in the climate change response sector.

Subsequently, it simultaneously won the Honors Club Prize which only the top five Korean companies took home and the Carbon Management Sector Honors Prize, which is awarded to companies that have recorded the best environmental performances in the financial sector.