Woori Financial Group enhances consumer protection amid regulatory drive

Woori Financial Group headquarters in Seoul / Courtesy of Woori Financial Group

Woori Financial Group has upgraded its consumer protection department under the direct supervision of its chairman, in a move to strengthen financial consumer rights amid intensifying regulatory scrutiny, it said Thursday.

The development followed emphasis on consumer protection by the heads of the Financial Services Commission (FSC) and Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), prompted by a slew of personal data theft and mis-selling of products at financial entities.

The newly established department will report directly to Chairman Yim Jong-yong, in a clear shift from the previous corporate governance model that had consumer protection oversight under its compliance division.

The department will outline and execute group-wide policies, in addition to internal controls oversight. It will also manage and recommend best practices across subsidiaries.

Yim presided over a meeting of a consumer protection council joined by chief consumer officers from the group’s 12 affiliates.

They will monitor current practices and explore an employee evaluation framework based on consumer issues, in a step toward stringent group-wide accountability.

“We expect the new department to strengthen governance, with standards unified across the group,” a Woori Financial official said. “Woori will continue efforts to lead the drive to enhance compliance and responsibility in finance.”

Its subsidiary Woori Bank plans to launch a program to nurture in-house consumer protection specialists.

The first-ever internal training program will select about 10 employees to be trained by top legal experts.

These steps followed FSC Chairman Lee Eog-weon’s policy vision announced Monday, which stressed productive, consumer-centric and trustworthy finance.

Lee called for safeguards before, during and after product sales, as well as stronger remedies in case of consumer harm.

Similarly, FSS Gov. Lee Chan-jin echoed these sentiments during a meeting with the CEOs of 25 foreign financial firms operating in Korea.

He warned that complex financial products must be subject to stricter product sales oversight.