Woori Bank Co., South Korea’s third-largest lender that was fully privatized after the government sold off its stake last year, will aggressively seek merger and acquisition targets to transform the bank into a major financial group by 2020, the nominee for the bank’s chief executive said on Friday.

In a press conference held at Woori Bank headquarters in central Seoul on Friday, Sohn Tae-seung, who was named as the new head on the day before, said that the lender will first push forward mergers and acquisitions of small asset managers ahead of its transition into a holding firm. The lender will seek to own different types of financial entities.

Sohn, currently executive vice president at Woori Bank, has been serving as acting chief since his predecessor Lee Kwang-goo stepped down last month to take responsibility over alleged unfair recruiting practices last year. The bank was under fire during a parliamentary audit when evidence showed that sons and daughters or other family members of high-ranking officials of the lender’s major customers, National Intelligence Service, and Financial Supervisory Service, had been favored during the hiring process last year. The case has been referred to the prosecution for further investigation.

“Prosecutorial investigation on the alleged irregularity is currently ongoing, so we will have to wait and see (until it is complete),” Sohn said. “Once investigation results come out, we will take disciplinary actions on related employees depending on the gravity of the matter.”

Sohn also said that he will promote an engagement leadership to root out internal strife that has been a rising concern under the leadership of his predecessor.

Woori Bank was established by a merger between the Commercial Bank of Korea and Hanil Bank in the wake of the Asian financial crisis in late 1990s.

By Lee Seung-yoon and Lee Eun-joo

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