(Photo= Yonhap news)

 

[Alpha Biz= Reporter Kim Minyoung] It has been revealed that a relative of former Woori Financial Group Chairman Son Tae-seung, who received approximately 35 billion won in improper loans from Woori Bank, used an "Honorary Branch Manager" title to act as a promotional ambassador for the bank.

On August 13, it was reported that A, the brother-in-law of the former chairman, pretended to be the honorary branch manager at various Woori Bank centers, such as the Sindorim Financial Center and the Seolleung Financial Center. The honorary branch manager title is a role given to select VIP clients at each branch to act as ambassadors for the branch and head office, with invitations to corporate social responsibility activities. A financial authority official noted, "There were complaints about A using the honorary branch manager title."

However, A was not officially appointed by Woori Bank. A bank representative clarified, "The head office manages a list of all honorary branch managers, and A was not on that list. Additionally, honorary branch managers are not provided with business cards." It appears that Im, a former head of the bank who handled most of the 61.6 billion won in loans to the chairman’s relatives, may have personally provided A with the honorary title and business cards. Im had served as the manager of the Sindorim and Seolleung Financial Centers.

Woori Bank has stated that it detected the inappropriate loans related to the chairman's relatives between January and March of this year and had not reported these findings to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) at that time. The bank explained that there were no clear illegal activities found beyond negligence in the loan assessments, which did not constitute a financial incident under the relevant regulations. The bank only relayed this information to the FSS after receiving a complaint verification request in May.

 

 

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