Woori launches marketing team for MZ generation

The headquarters of Woori Bank in central Seoul / Courtesy of Woori Bank

By Anna J. Park

Woori Bank, the flagship unit of Woori Financial Group, said Wednesday that it had created an MZ Marketing Team in a bid to attract young customers and secure a sustainable customer base.

The new team, launched a few weeks after the bank's privatization, is focused on developing products and services that appeal to younger people. The team consists of MZ Generation employees, including its manager. MZ Generation refers to both Millennials (born 1981-1995) and Generation Z (born 1996-2005)

The move is part of the group's strategy to attract customers in their 20s and 30s. The financial group said earlier it will invest more than one trillion won ($840 billion) in developing new comprehensive digital platforms tailored to the needs of the MZ Generation.

Group Chairman Son Tae-seung stressed the importance of getting the attention of MZ customers, in his first official message after privatization.

Woori was again privatized ― 23 years after receiving 13 trillion won in government funding amid the Asian Financial Crisis in the late 1990s ― when the state-run Korea Deposit Insurance Corporation (KDIC) sold its 9.3 percent stake in the group to private equities funds and other financial companies in late November.

“The future of Woori Financial is dependent on customers from the MZ generation,” said Chairman Son, vowing that the group will streamline and devise new platforms and services for the MZ generation.

Woori Bank's mobile banking application is planning to introduce various services, including deliveries and games by the end of this month.

While executing small-scale innovations upon its banking platforms first, the financial group will develop the MZ-focused digital platform, which is expected to include wealth management as well as other investment functions. The group's ultimate plan is to incorporate the platform into its own brokerage unit, as the group plans to acquire smaller-sized brokerage companies in the future.

“Woori Financial Group is currently examining various tech businesses, ranging from Artificial Intelligence to blockchain in the area of robo-advisor, insuretech and NFT and more, whose technologies could activate the platform,” an official from the group explained.

According to Woori Finance Research Institute, the MZ generation is expected to account for 60 percent of the working age population (aged 15 to 64) by 2030. Competition between major banks is now focused on attracting young customers to use their services.