I’m currently managing director of Content and Business Planning at The Korea Times. Before I took the current position in early 2024, I served as managing editor in charge of both paper and online for over three and a half years. In 2015-2018, I worked as Singapore correspondent covering ASEAN nations.
IBK boss aims to create world-class bank
By Kim Jae-kyoung
The new head of the Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK) said that he will seek to transform the state-run lender into the nation’s best and one of the world’s top banks.
In his inauguration speech Wednesday, referring to Martin Luther King’s “I Have A Dream” speech in 1963, IBK CEO Cho Joon-hee said, “I also have a dream of making IBK the nation’s best and one of the world’s first-class bank.”
To that end, Cho stressed that he will place top priority on customer-centered management, strengthening corporate banking for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SME), finding new growth engines, enhancing corporate social responsibilities, and establishing a solid foundation of a comprehensive financial group.
“Customers are everything for banks and they are the reason why we exist,” the 56-year-old said.
“IBK is the number one lender in SME banking. We will extend the scope of services for SMEs from simple lending to more professional services, such as consulting and providing support for overseas expansion,” he added.
He also expressed his vision to create a comprehensive financial group.
“We will seek to maximize the synergy among subsidiaries, including capital, securities, insurance, asset management, and credit information,” he said.
“The traditional financial market has reached the point of saturation and the outlook for the financial industry remains uncertain. In these circumstances, IBK will make further efforts to find new growth engines, while maintaining its position in the existing market.”
The new chief also called for the labor union to work together to weather any upcoming challenges.
“Under all conditions, the management and union should join hands and put their heads together (for a breakthrough). If the two parties try to understand each other, there is nothing we cannot overcome,” he said.
A graduate of Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, Cho started his career at IBK in 1980. He has served in a number of key posts, including the head of the lender’s Tokyo branch, management support division and retail customer division.
He is the second in-house CEO of the state-controlled bank, who is not a former bureaucrat. The first was CEO Kim Seung-kyung, who headed the bank from February 1996 to May 1998. The other 19 IBK CEOs were all former government officials.