Hana prepares to take over Woori

Yet banking experts are worried that the acquisition will strain Hana’s resources.

Hana Financial Group, the nation’s fourth-largest financial company, is getting ready to acquire the nation’s second-biggest, Woori Financial Group, after the government announced its long-awaited Woori privatization plan last Friday.

According to finance industry sources on Sunday, Hana Financial Group Chairman Kim Seung-yu has reportedly ordered his internal strategic planning team to review the privatization plan in detail.

“We have been continuously studying mergers and acquisitions between banks,” Kim Jong-yeul, president of Hana Financial Group, told a reporter. “Since detailed [privatization] plans have been released, there is a need for us to cautiously review them.” Another high-ranking official at Hana Financial Group said, “We will find ways to satisfy both our shareholders and the government by following several standards included in the announced Woori privatization plan, such as maximizing the recovery of injected public funds and establishing a mega-bank.”

View the full story in JoongAng Daily.