Korea Investment Holdings Chairman Kim Nam-goo. (Photos: Korea Investment & Securities)

Kim Nam-goo, vice chairman of Korea Investment Holdings, was promoted to chairman. Kim is evaluated to have grown Korea Investment Holdings into one of the most profitable companies in the Korean securities industry.

“We will overcome current global financial difficulties by focusing more on expanding global new businesses, human resources management and digital innovation, and realizing social values,” Chairman Kim said.

Kim’s management ability expedited the growth of Korea Investment Holdings, financial industry insiders say. As of the end of last year, the equity capital of Korea Investment Holdings amounted to 5,033 billion won and its assets 60,766.3 trillion won on a consolidated basis.

At the end of 2009, the two stood at 1,888 billion won and 13,457.9 billion won, respectively. Currently, Korea Investment Holdings has eight subsidiaries including Korea Investment & Securities, and 40 subsidiaries including Korea Investment Management.

Korea Investment & Securities, the flagship company of Korea Investment Financial Holdings, is leading the industry under the leadership of Chairman Kim.

Chairman Kim broke away from the existing securities firms’ reliance on the brokerage business, and diversified Korea Investment & Securities’ business into investment banking (IB), principal investment (PI), and wealth management (WM). The diversification laid the foundation for stable profit generation, even if volatility in the stock market expands.

Major securities firms have been diversifying their business, following the lead of Korea Investment & Securities.

In November 2017, Korea Investment & Securities was granted a short-term financial business license in addition to being designated as a major investment bank. Thanks to this, the following year, the company established itself as a market leader in the bill market.

Korea Investment & Securities’ business performance has been at the highest level in the securities industry. In 2019, Korea Investment & Securities posted 865.3 billion won in operating profit and 70.99 billion won in net profit, the largest ever earnings in the history of the Korean securities industry.

At the end of last year, Korea Investment & Securities’ equity capital arrived at 5,458.5 billion, swelling by one trillion won in a year.

Chairman Kim’s goal is to make Korea Investment & Securities the best securities company in Asia. He has concluded that Korea Investment & Securities has a bright future, as the Asian economy had been growing rapidly until recently. Currently, the company is expanding its market by operating subsidiaries in Hong Kong, Vietnam and Indonesia.

In addition, Chairman Kim is the owner-manager of the company. He takes the lead in the growth of Korea Investment Holdings, not only in financial investment, but the financial industry as a whole, such as internet banks, venture investments, loans, and hedge fund management.

A good example is Kakao Bank. Korea Investment Holdings is the second largest shareholder of Kakao Bank.

In 2015, Kim also made a bold decision when Korea Investment Holdings participated as the largest shareholder in the Kakao Bank Consortium when he was vice chairman.

Unlike other financial holding companies, Korea Investment Holdings had no bank subsidiary but instead focused on the growth potential of Internet banks. He has believed that Kakao Bank can provide differentiated financial services through the Kakao Talk platform used by nearly every person in Korea.

Kim’s insight paid off handsomely. Kakao Bank grew fast by introducing convenient and innovative financial services that offline banks could not provide.

In July 2019, the number of Kakao Bank accounts topped 10 million in two years since the opening of business in July 2017. In particular, the bank achieved a net profit of 13.7 billion won and successfully posted a surplus last year.

The Headquarters of Korea Investment & Securities in Yeouido, Seoul.