Chairman Kim Kwang-soo of NH Financial Group.

Chairman Kim Kwang-soo of NH Financial Group declared that the company will explore the Asian financial market by combining a strategy with finance and distribution.

The announcement was made at the financial group’s global strategy meeting on July 24 presided over by the chairman. The leading idea at the strategy meeting spelled out plans for the group to have a global operational model that can leverage value for the farmers’ cooperative (Nonghyup) by exploring the global financial market.

The strategy is aimed at building a triangular financial cluster combining Northeast, Southeast and Southwest Asian regions. The new chairman also said the financial group is ready to grab a big share of businesses related to inter-Korean economic exchange under its “Northern Financial Master Plan” linking North Korea and Russia.

The financial group will steadfastly pursue joint ventures with China’s Kungshao Group, Vietnam’s Agri Bank and IFFCO of India, to show that the Korean group weighs heavily its operations in those countries to broaden its operational horizon.

In his inaugural address on April 30, Chairman Kim said he will lead the financial group to be a “SMART” one through endless reform and to maximize synergy from pan-Nonghyup affiliates with their utmost priority being the trust of customers. He stressed the financial group’s ultimate role being the generation of stable profits to support farms and agriculture.

In order to play the role as “the profit center” for pan-Nonghyup, he said the group will always maintain its cooperative network with the NH Central Cooperative, mutual finance, and agricultural economy. The foremost key to maintaining the close cooperative network is to build a stable foundation to generate profits, the new chairman said.

He urged everyone in the group and its affiliates to make customer trust the most important value among employees.

The new chairman also said he will try to reform every segment of the group’s operational processes and dust off those that are inconsistent in the age of “SMART.” He also said strengthening the competitiveness of the group will become part of every Nonghyup financial employee’s work and daily life.

Before the inaugural ceremony, the new chairman visited the union’s office and told them he will communicate fully with employees and listen to the voices of the workers to help solve the problems they face.
The new chairman returned to the financial industry for the first time in seven years since his resignation as the chairman of a savings bank in 2011.

He is being counted on to move NH financial group a step up in the development ladder by taking advantage of his background as a financial policy expert, having managed a number of key financial policy posts in his career. Over the years, he has worked for the Financial Services Commission and other financial authorities, including the positions supervising the financial institutions including NH Financial Group.

Born in Bosung, South Jeolla Province, Kim got his BA from Seoul National University and a doctorate in international economics from the France State Administrative Graduate School in Paris. He passed the 27th National Examination for Public Servants and joined the Economic Planning Board to launch his public servant career.

Financial sources have been paying high-level attention to his comeback in the financial industry as he has been mentioned among the candidates for a number of key financial authorities including the Financial Services Commission and the Financial Supervisory Service and the Korea Exchange, among others, but he never made the cut it until now.

A view of the entrance of NACF in Seoul. (Photos: NHFG)