Woori Financial Group has opened the Jeonbuk Woori WON Financial Town in Jeonbuk Innovation City. With Woori Financial joining, Jeonbuk Innovation City now hosts regional hubs for the four major financial groups: KB, Shinhan, Hana and Woori.

Woori Financial said it held an opening ceremony for the Jeonbuk Woori WON Financial Town on July 29 in Iseo-myeon, Wanju County, North Jeolla Province. The Jeonbuk Woori WON Financial Town is a regional financial hub that brings together group affiliates’ capital markets, corporate finance and inclusive finance functions, including Woori Asset Management, Woori Bank, the Woori Miso Finance Foundation and Goodwill Store.

It was built under Woori Financial’s "infrastructure reinforcement plan for Woori Financial to develop Jeonbuk as a financial hub," announced in February. Woori Financial plans to supply a total of 1.6 trillion won in funding to small and medium-sized companies and small merchants in the Jeonbuk region by 2030.

Woori Asset Management opened a Jeonju office in the financial town and will work with the National Pension Service and expand its regional network. It plans to hire local specialists and run a youth internship programme for university students in the Jeonbuk region.

Woori Bank placed its Pension Fund Client Department, a dedicated unit for the National Pension Service, and its Asset Custody Department in the financial town. It plans to strengthen its role as the National Pension Service’s main bank, a task it has carried out since 2018, and bolster its support system for pension fund asset custody.

It also set up a new corporate finance-focused channel called the NPS Jeonbuk BIZ Prime Center. The organisation has corporate finance experts visiting local companies directly to provide investment, lending and management consulting.

Woori Bank provided 186 billion won in support to companies in the Jeonbuk region through the end of June this year. It plans to expand the supply of financing to advanced strategic industries and related companies, centred on the NPS Jeonbuk BIZ Prime Center.

It is also strengthening support for local startups. Fourteen startups are currently based at the Dinolab Jeonbuk Center, which opened in March last year. Woori Financial plans to link its in-house venture fund, the Dinolab Fund, to provide investment and opportunities to collaborate with affiliates for tenant companies.

In the inclusive finance segment, it opened a Jeonju branch of the Woori Miso Finance Foundation. It provides business-site promotion, operating supplies and support funds to young business owners and small merchants who faithfully repaid microfinance loans.

A Goodwill Store, which employs people with disabilities to sell donated goods, has also moved into the financial town. Woori Financial plans to add job training programmes for people with disabilities to support job creation and economic self-reliance for local residents with disabilities.

Woori Financial Group Chairman Yim Jong-ryong (임종룡) said, "The Jeonbuk Woori WON Financial Town is a starting point for Woori Financial and Jeonbuk and Jeonju to grow together centred on the National Pension Service." He added, "We will strengthen our role as the National Pension Service’s main bank and support the growth of local small and medium-sized companies, small merchants and startups."