Woori Investment & Securities relaunches after 10 years

Woori Investment & Securities CEO Nam Ki-cheon waves the company's flag during the firm's inauguration ceremony at the firm's headquarters in Seoul, Thursday. Yonhap

Woori Investment & Securities officially launched on Thursday. This comes 10 years after Woori Financial Group sold its securities firm to NongHyup Financial Group in 2014.

On Thursday, Woori Investment & Securities, formed through the merger of Woori Investment Bank and Korea Foss Securities, held an inauguration ceremony at its headquarters in Seoul. The mid-sized securities firm ranks 18th in the industry, with a capital base of around 1.1 trillion won ($806 million).

At the ceremony, the firm declared its goal to become a comprehensive securities firm strong in digital and investment banking (IB). It also showed its ambition to enter the top 10 in the industry within five years and become a mega IB within ten years.

"If all employees have a sense of ownership and fulfill their respective roles, Woori Investment & Securities, along with its staff, will achieve rapid growth together," Woori Investment & Securities CEO Nam Ki-cheon said. "Let's build one team founded on communication and harmony."

Nam also expressed his intention to drive Woori's strategy of "rebuilding the prestige of corporate finance" by providing comprehensive financial services tailored to the corporate life cycle.

Woori Financial Group Chairman Yim Jong-yong pledged full group-level support. He promised to accelerate infrastructure expansion, including capital enhancement, human resources deployment systems and securing an independent office building.

"With the launch of this firm, we have made significant progress in diversifying the group's portfolio and can now truly emerge as a comprehensive financial group," Yim said. "I hope all employees will fully dedicate themselves to making this a premier securities firm."

On May 3, Woori Financial Group announced its re-entry into the securities by signing a merger agreement between Woori Investment Bank and Korea Foss Securities. In July, the merger was approved by the respective companies' boards and the Financial Services Commission.

Woori Investment & Securities plans to leverage the platform competitiveness of Korea Foss Securities and corporate lending business of Woori Investment Bank as its initial foundation. It aims to expand its business areas into comprehensive finance, sales and trading, retail and risk management.