Woori Financial Group trails peers as Korea's big banks post record H1 profit

South Korea’s four major financial holding companies – KB, Shinhan, Hana and Woori – are expected to record a combined net profit of about 11 trillion won for the first half of the year. KB Financial is projected to increase profit by 6.15% to 3.6587 trillion won, Shinhan Financial by 5.53% to 3.2654 trillion won, and Hana Financial by 6.76% to 2.4802 trillion won.

Woori Financial Group, however, is forecast to post only a 0.2% rise, reaching 1.5975 trillion won, leaving it far behind the other three groups. The modest growth is linked to the sluggish performance of Woori Bank, tighter household‑loan regulations, and the capital‑raising burden from recent life‑insurance acquisitions (Dongyang Life and ABL Life). Chairman Im Jong‑ryong has raised the profit target for Woori’s investment‑banking unit from 500 billion won to 700 billion won, but the ongoing reorganization faces uncertainty as several externally recruited subsidiary CEOs are rumored to be considering departures.