President Kim Won-kyu of Woori Investment and Securities Co

Vice President Kim Yong-bok of NH Bank has been designated president of Woori Alibaba Life Insurance Co., which is soon to be an affiliate of NH Financial Holding Co., while Vice President Kim Seung-hi has been designated president of NH Savings Bank, while President Kim Won-kyu of Woori Investment and Securities Co. has been retained at his current position. 

The Financial Services Commission, in the meantime, has approved the applications to have these three financial companies included as affiliates of NH Financial Holdings on May 3.

NH Financial will pay off the remaining money due to take over the majority stakes in those financial companies within May and hold shareholder meetings for the three financial firms in order to approve of the nominations of the three new CEOs on June 27.

Woori Savings Bank will change its name to NH Savings Bank, but the names of the other two financial firms will retain their names until they are merged with other NH Financial affiliates.

President-designate Kim Yong-bok is a law graduate of Chonnam University in Jeonju, North Chungcheong Province. His last position with NACF was as head of the NACF Jeonnam Region. President-designate Kim Seung-hi is a graduate of Dankook University in Seoul and was the head of the personnel department of NACF.

NH Financial is likely to speed up the mergers of the three financial affiliates with Woori Alibaba Life to be merged with NH Life within this year and Woori Investment and Securities to be merged with NH Investment and Securities early next year.

Woori Investment and Securities will attach the logo of NACF to its CI from June 13 with its name to be changed to NH Woori Investment and Securities. Woori Alibaba Life Insurance will keep using its current name until its merger with NH Investment and Securities. Woori Investment and Securities and NH Securities will be the largest securities firm in Korea following their merger, despite their reductions in the number of employees through the early retirement plan.

NH Investment & Securities Co., Ltd. was established on Nov. 11, 1982, as Korea Investment Finance Co., Ltd. The company then changed its name to Donga Securities Co., Ltd., and became a securities company providing securities-related services such as trading, brokerage, and purchases on July 1, 1991. The company went public and was listed on the Korea Stock Exchange on March 2, 1998. On Oct. 2, 1998, the company again was renamed Sejong Securities Co., Ltd.

On Jan. 29, 2006, its major shareholder changed from Sejong Capital Co., Ltd. to the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation (NACF), and was renamed NH Investment & Securities Co., Ltd. on Feb. 24, 2006. The company has several branches and sales offices, with its head office in Yeouido-dong, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul.

Nonghyup was launched in 1961 to contribute to the national economy by improving the social and economic status of farmers. Its credit line business, in particular, has grown into the country’s best financial institution with substantial and consistent growth over the last 50 years thanks to its loyal customers. In order to respond proactively to rapidly changing social, economic, and financial environments and to offer even better financial advice to its customers, NH made a new start as a financial group on March 2, 2012 with financial arms in banking, life insurance, miscellaneous insurance, securities, futures, and asset management sectors. NH Financial Group, now poised at a new starting line, is the pride of the Korean financial industry as the country’s only financial firm established with 100 percent domestic, private capital.