Woori Bank hosts US investment seminar for Korean firms

Woori Bank CEO Jung Jin-wan, center, poses with Andrew Gately, second from left, minister-counselor of commercial affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Korea, and other participants during an investment seminar at the bank's headquarters in Seoul, Wednesday. Courtesy of Woori Bank

Woori Bank held an investment seminar for small and medium-sized Korean companies seeking to enter the U.S. market amid tariff uncertainty and shifting trade conditions, the bank said Thursday.

The event, held at the bank's headquarters in Seoul the previous day, was co-hosted with the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and brought together a range of public and private institutions.

Participants included representatives from Woori Bank's Global Investment WON Center and its U.S. subsidiary Woori America Bank, as well as the Korea SMEs and Startups Agency, the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA), the law firm Jipyong and accounting firm Samil PwC.

The program featured 11 sessions on U.S. market entry strategies and the local business environment, along with one-on-one consultations covering financing, legal and tax issues, real estate and investment procedures. U.S.-based experts also shared practical insights and on-the-ground perspectives.

The seminar followed a similar event held last year on investment opportunities in Vietnam.

"This seminar was designed to give companies access to key information needed for entering the U.S. market, while helping them minimize trial and error in the early stages through consultations with experts," said Chung Doo-young, deputy head of global business at Woori Bank.

"We will continue to strengthen our role as a financial partner supporting small and medium-sized enterprises in expanding into global markets," he added.

Meanwhile, Woori America Bank, which entered the U.S. market in 1984, operates 24 branches across regions including New York, New Jersey, California, Georgia and Texas. Its total assets stood at about $4 billion as of 2025, making it the largest overseas unit among Korean commercial banks.