19th century to 2000s

The bank was founded back in the 19th century, in the year 1899, which then it was called 'Daehan Cheon-il Bank'. It renamed to 'Joseon Sangup Bank'(Joseon Commercial Bank) in 1911, then 'Commercial Bank of Korea' in the 1950s. Following the 1997 Asian financial crisis, it merged with the former 'Hanil Bank' and 'Peace Bank' to become 'Hanvit Bank'. In 2001, it became a subsidiary of Woori Financial Group. The current name was adopted in 2002. Its Jongno branch is located in the Gwangtonggwan, which is considered the oldest continuously operating bank building in Korea.^[4] On March 5, 2001, the branch was registered as Seoul City's Historic Landmark.^[5]

In 2014, after some amalgamation proceedings related to its parent company, Woori Bank absorbed Woori Financial Group.

Efforts for privatization

Even though privatization has been ongoing since 2010 to recover taxpayer funds, there has been no clear plan to follow through. With the government attempting to maximize the recovery of public funds, there has been a constant debate whether or not to sell the 51.4% government stake.

The South Korean government is pursuing privatization based on the principle of maximizing public fund recovery, development of the financial industry, and early privatization, but progress has been slow. In particular, the last government attempted to sell management rights and minority stakes separately but this ended in failure. This was because it was difficult to find a company that would acquire a 51.4% stake all at once.

On the other hand, the current South Korean government is considering a selling method which involves dividing the stake into equal shares for purchase by a few oligopoly shareholders. It is a method to show the ease of sale by selling the same stake to multiple investors, but at the same time characterized by the fact that Woori Bank's main shareholders are separated and are vulnerable to external management interference because the shares are split. The Public Fund Management Committee announced that it would plan and proceed with an initial 30% sale of the company. However, the intention to execute the sale remains doubtful without an existing timetable schedule is mentioned.

Woori Bank has invested 12.8 trillion won in public funds, of which, in order to recover 4.4 trillion won, which is the unrecovered amount, the stock price must increase by more than 50%. Discussions are underway among scholars about a temporary suspension for the sake of business safety and the banking industry due to the rapid sale.

The sale plan, which had been sluggish, changed to the sale of a 4-8% stake, rather than an outright sale of all stocks, including management rights, with the recruitment of preliminary bidders ending on September 23, 2016. Currently, it is known that there are about 18 preliminary bidders, and that the total buy-in interest is two or three times the 30% stake included in the planned sale. The government plans to complete the sale of the 30% stake by December 2016 and eventually complete the privatization process by selling all remaining shares in the second half of 2017. In addition, bidding is expected to commence on November 11, 2016 and the final decision will be made on November 13.

IMM Private Equity, Korea Investment & Securities, Kiwoom Securities, Hanwha Life Insurance, Tong Yang Life Insurance, Eugene Asset Management, and Mirae Asset Management participated in the first round of bidding, buying between 3.8% and 6% stakes in Woori Bank each. The first successful bid was sold on January 31, 2017. The South Korean government fully divested itself of all shares in Woori Bank in 2021.^[6]

Branches

The following lists all major offices and branches. All data are as of the end of January 2018 for Overseas and June 2020 for South Korea.

Domestic

Woori Bank Jongno Banking Center

• Number of branches and offices: 862

Overseas

Woori Bank in West Java, Indonesia

Woori Bank in Beijing

• United States as Woori America Bank (multiple locations)
• London, United Kingdom
• Singapore, Singapore
• Tokyo, Japan
• Hanoi, Vietnam; Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam
• Bahrain, Bahrain
• Dhaka, Bangladesh
• Chennai, India
• Manila, Philippines as Wealthbank (Woori Bank Subsidiary) A Development Bank
• Dubai, UAE
• Sydney, Australia
• Jakarta, Indonesia as Woori Saudara Bank
• Moscow, Russia; Saint Petersburg, Russia as Woori Bank Russia
• Beijing, China as Woori Bank of China Limited
• Hong Kong, China, as Woori Investment Bank
• São Paulo, Brazil as Brazil Woori Bank
• Yangon, Myanmar as Woori Finance Myanmar
• Phnom Penh, Cambodia as Woori Finance Cambodia
• Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (Office)
• Teheran, Iran (Office)
• Kaesong Industrial Complex, North Korea (former)

In 2004, Woori Bank opened its Gaeseong Industrial Complex branch, in Gaeseong, North Korea, the first foreign bank to do so in North Korea. Woori Bank has operations in Bangladesh, India and Indonesia. On 14 March 2012, its Indonesian subsidiary, Bank Woori Indonesia, announced a plan to merge with a local bank, Bank Saudara.^[7] In April 2012, Woori Bank opened its first branch in India at Chennai.^[8]

Clientele

Woori Bank has major clientele from all over South Korea, including but not limited to: Samsung Electronics, CJ Group, Hanwha, Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), Yonsei University, and Korean University of Foreign Studies (HUFS).