Woori Financial Group is moving its microfinance hub to an area with many small business owners and expanding inclusive finance centred on the field. It plans to provide financial counselling and support for self-reliance from locations closer to small merchants in traditional markets and alleyway retail districts.

Woori Financial said on Tuesday it relocated the Woori Smile Microfinance Foundation from Euljiro in Seoul to Changsin-dong and held an opening ceremony.

The relocation is the first execution case of the group’s "microfinance infrastructure strengthening plan" announced in March. Woori Financial plans to move its base to Changsin-dong, where small business owners are concentrated, and provide financial counselling and support closer to small merchants and low-income people.

Changsin-dong is a representative site of the low-income economy, with many traditional markets and garment workers. The Woori Smile Microfinance Foundation also plans to run on-site counselling, with staff visiting business premises directly for small merchants who find it difficult to visit the branch due to their work.

It will also expand local hubs. Woori Financial plans to establish hubs step by step in places including Jeonju and Cheongju, increasing the number of Woori Smile Microfinance Foundation branches to 12 from 8.

It will also launch a new self-reliance support programme for small merchants. Woori Financial unveiled "Woori Saehuimang Store," a microfinance-focused social contribution project. It plans to select and support a total of 200 Woori Saehuimang Stores.

After the event, Kim Eun-kyung (김은경) and Lim Jong-ryong (임종룡) visited the first Woori Saehuimang Store, a fried chicken shop in Changsin Alley Market, toured the premises and heard about difficulties faced by small merchants.

Microfinance supply is also expanding. Woori Financial supplied 6.4 billion won by the end of June out of its 12 billion won microfinance supply target for this year, already surpassing last year’s full-year supply performance in the first half.

The "Youth Future Link Loan," launched in March, supplied 1.5 billion won in three months, about 68 percent of its annual supply target of 2.2 billion won.

Woori Financial plans to increase annual microfinance supply to 20 billion won by 2028 and raise the share of support for young people to 50 percent. It will also make an additional contribution of 100 billion won to the Woori Smile Microfinance Foundation to secure stable funding.

Lim said the relocation of the Woori Smile Microfinance Foundation’s Seoul branch was a new start to take a step closer to small merchants and low-income people who need microfinance.