Lee Yeon-woo is a financial journalist at The Korea Times. Her wide range of reporting includes policies, macroeconomics, stock market, companies and even crypto. She is passionate about connecting the dots in Korean finance and making it easier for foreign nationals to understand. Based on her previous experience as a national reporter, she also has a keen interest in social issues within the sector, including gender equality and ESG. Your tips and insights are always appreciated. You can send them to yanu@koreatimes.co.kr.
4 major financial group chiefs head to Gyeongju for APEC CEO Summit
The heads of Korea’s four major financial groups, from left: KB Financial Group Chairman Yang Jong-hee, Shinhan Financial Group Chairman Jin Ok-dong, Hana Financial Group Chairman Ham Young-joo and Woori Financial Group Chairman Yim Jong-yong. Courtesy of each group
By Lee Yeon-woo
The heads of Korea’s four major financial groups — KB, Shinhan, Hana and Woori — will travel to Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, to attend the 2025 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) CEO Summit, industry officials said Friday.
The executives are expected to explore global market trends and actively promote Korea’s financial industry on the international stage.
Around 1,700 business leaders from 21 countries are expected to attend the event. High-profile participants include Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, Amazon Web Services CEO Matt Garman and Citi CEO Jane Fraser.
According to industry sources, KB Financial Group Chairman Yang Jong-hee, Shinhan Financial Group Chairman Jin Ok-dong, Hana Financial Group Chairman Ham Young-joo and Woori Financial Group Chairman Yim Jong-yong will attend the opening ceremony of the APEC CEO Summit on Wednesday.
They will be joined by KB Kookmin Bank CEO Lee Hwan-ju and Woori Bank CEO Jung Jin-wan, who will accompany their respective groups’ chairmen.
Expanding global networks and winning the confidence of global investors have recently become top priorities for Korea’s financial holding companies, as their stock prices remain sluggish despite growing expectations that the benchmark KOSPI could break the 4,000-point mark within the year.
As of Thursday, foreign ownership in KB Financial stood at 77.2 percent, followed by Shinhan Financial at 59.9 percent. Hana Financial and Woori Financial reported foreign ownership levels of 68.2 percent and 48 percent, respectively.
Business momentum has also been slowed by mounting headwinds, including tighter government curbs on household lending. With this key profit stream in decline, global operations are increasingly seen as a critical growth engine for Korea’s major financial groups.
As a result, the chairmen’s overseas engagements have increased in recent months. These moves align with the groups’ broader pledge to raise corporate value through better transparency and shareholder-friendly policies.
During the International Monetary Fund and World Bank Annual Meetings held from Oct. 13-18, these four chairmen organized separate investor relations sessions to strengthen ties with global investors. They also reportedly highlighted the government’s "productive finance" initiative, which emphasizes corporate investment over real estate development.
Earlier in September, Chairmen Jin and Ham joined President Lee Jae Myung’s delegation to New York, participating in high-level investor relations events to promote Korea’s financial competitiveness.
"With top-level foreign dignitaries and global CEOs in attendance, the chairmen are expected to read market trends and expand their international networks at the event," an industry official said.