“An enterprise that has continued to prosper for over a century owes its public respect, not for its profit growth,” said President Song Ki-jin of Kwangju Bank (KJB), which won the Banking Sector Award of the Korea Financial Grand Award, which is also known as the Financial Man of the Year Award.

CEO Song believes that in order for a regional bank to win the respect in the region in which it operates, it needs to contribute to society with social services. He launched a social service team upon his arrival at the bank as CEO back in 2008 and has continued to run it under the theme of sharing and mutual survival.

Since 2009, KJB has been providing support to “KJB Love Fountain,” which now totals 44 with the goal to see the number rise to 150 by 2014.

The bank has also been providing all kinds of support to big events held in its operation region including the 2012 Yeosu Expo, the upcoming 2015 Gwangju Universiad, the 2013 Suncheon International Garden Expo and other international events held in the Honam region. The bank has also been giving support to various events for the development of the region including sports events such as sponsoring local soccer teams.

CEO Song said the bank has been setting aside 5 percent of its net profit annually for social causes under the idea that a large fruit cannot all be eaten at once and that some should be left for others as the esprit de corps for the bank.

This winter, too, the bank has been busy performing its social service activities by providing support to the kimchi sharing event, the Hot Temperature Tower, visits to welfare facilities, free meal service, and military unit visits during which they provide equipment to keep them warm, among others.

CEO Song has also been leading the bank to not neglect the poor and SMEs in the region so that they can get enough financial support, despite a lack of strong credit worthiness. The bank signed agreements with local autonomous organizations and related organizations so that financial support can be extended to SMEs and local autonomous organizations that have little collateral to put up for their loans.

Kwangju Bank is known for its “Soho Famous House” scheme under which it provides financial services for loans, deposits, and low-fee and low interest rate credit cards and Edison was the first among the Famous Houses selected by the bank for its favorable services, which now totals over 300.

Among the bank’s other notable services are the “Kwangun High Cluster Loan,” a one-stop financial service provided to SMEs operating in the industrial complexes in the Honam region; the “High Farm Loan” provided to livestock farms in the region; and “the High Tech Loan” provided to SMEs with technologies with excellent future value.

The bank has provided a total of 7 trillion won in loans to SMEs in the South Jeolla and Gwangju region in the first half of this year, with 60 percent of them going to small firms.

The bank also operates the “KJB New Hope Seed Loan,” the “KJB Hope Dream Loan,” and the “Gwangju South Jeolla Credit Guarantee Special Guarantee Loan,” all of them financial products designed to help people and businesses with poor credit in the region. Some 52 billion won worth of loans have been disbursed under the “New Hope Seed Loans” as of the end of September.

The bank has also been a leader in the creation of jobs in the region by hiring more than 90 percent of its new employees annually from the applicants in the region through tie-ups with regional universities operating vocational training centers. The bank has also been expanding hiring high school graduates in the region each year.

CEO Song is known for his expanded communication with officers and staff under the belief that it is a necessity for the bank’s operational progress. He declared “Family Day” every Wednesday and “No Call Day” every Monday with no drinks and meals among employees so that every officer and staff can go home and enjoy the evening with their families.

As a result, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family named Kwangju Bank the winner of the first Family Friendly Environment Grand Award in 2010, and in 2011 the bank was selected as a Family Friendship Certification Enterprise. The Ministry of Knowledge Economy selected the bank as the best company to work for in the region.