President Yoon Jong-won of the Industrial Bank of Korea gives his inauguration speech as he took office as IBK’s 26th present on Jan. 29. (Photos: IBK)

“I will create an innovation-powered organization to enhance competitiveness through innovative finance and fair play-based management,” said Yoon Jong-won during his inauguration ceremony as the 26th president of the Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK).

The event was held at the main office building of the IBK in Jung-gu, Seoul on Jan. 29. In his inaugural address, Yoon stressed, “We will make the IBK a world-class financial group with global competitiveness.”

President Yoon said that he would find ways to maximize synergies between the bank and its subsidiaries, and expand the IBK's global financial territory by promoting its overseas expansion in various ways.

Moreover, Yoon expressed determination to make the IBK the leader in innovation within the Korean financial industry and sharpening the overall economy’s competitiveness.

President Yoon picked four keywords for the bank: trust, ability, people, and system.

First, he called on employees to make the IBK a bank trusted through a customer-oriented work style and corporate culture, and the bank should have the ability to provide services that customers want.

“Our employees are the main source of our competitiveness,” Yoon said. “We will step up our efforts to make human resources management fair and transparent and strengthen our employees’ capabilities.”

“We will expedite our decision-making process and create a flexible organization by upgrading our business system,” the new IBK president added. “We will make an improvement to our management evaluation system by gathering the opinions of our employees.”

Yoon also pointed out that it was necessary to have a rapid capital shift to “everyday life finance” by strengthening its capital power and speeding up digital transformation in support of SMEs.

“Let’s make a happy and exciting workplace with our employees by creating an organization full of positive changes and vitality through communication and engagement,” Yoon continued.

After the inauguration ceremony, president Yoon visited IBK Changgong Guro, the Guro-dong branch of the IBK and Good Day Care Center and a smart factory of OLT, a corporate customer of the IBK as his first official schedule as president of the IBK.

IBK Changgong is IBK’s start-up development platform that provides office space, investment and financing and consulting services to innovative start-ups.

It operates in three locations - Mapo and Guro in Seoul and Busan. Since December 2017, 182 companies have been fostered through the IBK Changgong Program.

OLT is the first company fostered by IBK Changgong Guro. It is developing and operating a platform based on internet of things (IoT) technology to help manufacturing companies purchase bolts and nuts and manage inventories.

“We will take the lead in giving financial support and fostering innovative startups in order to elevate their productivity,” Yoon said.

With an eye toward supporting innovative startups, the IBK launched “Innovation Growth Special Loans” amounting to a total of one trillion won with a cut of one percentage point in the interest rate, and plans to supply more than 22 trillion won in total this year.

“I will make endeavors to make the IBK a stronger and more resilient bank in the future by listening to the opinions of those in the field,” Yoon said while encouraging employees at the Guro-dong branch to listen to difficulties facing employees.

Many financial industry experts say that Yoon will place top priority on personnel management. This is because the IBK’s regular executive shakeup has been delayed, creating a vacuum in management.

Yoon is expected to immediately begin drawing up management strategies and beefing up the bank’s sales power.

IBK President Yoon shakes hands with employees who welcomed him on his first day as IBK president at the IBK headquarters in Euljiro, Seoul.