Pursues New Corporate Culture Plan

Woori Financial Group focused on cutting costs with creative corporate culture

The Woori Financial Group has decided to change its organizational culture to focus on cost reduction by adopting Toyota Motor’s management style, financial sources said. They said Chairman Lee Pal-seung of the group already formed a task force to take charge of the new management strategy, which is aimed at enhancing the group’s financial competitiveness through creative corporate culture with talented manpower and creative systems.
Affiliate CEOs of the group got reports from the task force and approved the roadmap to reform the group in its strategic areas directed mainly at reducing costs, the sources said.
The roadmap includes an official declaration of the group’s moves to create a fresh corporate culture in the middle of December under a new management paradigm based on recommendations from each jobsite of the group’s affiliates.
The plan also calls for streamlining similar or redundant units, redoubling the efforts of underperforming units and simplifying purchasing procedures, all aimed at cost reductions. By the end of the year, the plan calls for setting up a number of vehicles to push through the reform plan including the establishment of a reform academy and the selection of reform leaders and other systems or programs needed to carry out those outlined in the roadmap.
Reform leaders selected from each of the group’s affiliates will take charge of a major role in creating a new corporate culture in the group as they work through the reform academy.
The members of the task force toured the head office and plants of Japanese automaker Toyota for a week in September to learn the operational systems of one of the top carmakers in the world. They also collected suggestions for reform from their fellow employees by holding a number of town meeting-like gatherings within their companies. The group has assigned management consulting firm Nplatform to develop a reform plan and consult them on cutting costs. These moves all have to do with Chairman Lee’s belief that the group has to cut costs to increase profits until new growth engines are found. Lee believes they must learn from Toyota Motor’s management experiences, although Woori is a financial group.
Woori Financial Group’s ultimate target for its operation is to put itself among the top 30 financial groups in the world as was announced by Chairman Lee in his New Year’s address this year. Woori Bank is the largest affiliate of the financial group.
The group will make efforts to make the list of best-run financial conglomerates in the world by strengthening its customer services and expanding synergy with affiliates, solidifying its image and position at the same time.
In order to fight off the factors that endangered the group’s operation this year, it has decided to prioritize risk reduction to improve profitability. The group will see that all officers and staff will be armed with its operational mind to make the group profitable despite the adverse financial conditions ahead this year, and build a base to relaunch the group’s operations after the financial crisis is overcome.
The group will also beef up its risk management capacity with the emergency situation office at its center to remove potential risk factors, using even pre-emptive measures if they are needed.
The group will also focus on finding new growth engines to ensure its successful escape from the financial crisis, while at the same time strengthening its current operational capacities and expanding synergy among its affiliates.
The non-banking units and overseas operational base for the group will also be made strong without suspension through continued efforts in line with the group’s strategy to be at the forefront of the banking community in fighting off the financial crisis.
As the top financial group in the country with a history extending for 110 years, it is ready to be a bridgehead for the government effort to tide over the current economic crisis. The group is confident that it will make it through the crisis with all of its affiliates, although many obstacles will stand in its way.
Crisis and opportunity make up both sides of the coin and to achieve a great aim, one has to be ready to ride out the long, strong winds and rough waves and Woori group is ready to do just that. nw

Chairman Lee Pal-seung of Woori Financial Group.