Woori Financial Group has embarked on its first mission as a fully private lender to reshape itself as a fintech-armed financial service provider from a traditional bank with heavy focus on corporate lending to lure younger generation retail customers

The Korean financial conglomerate will spend 200 billion won ($167.7 million) to build a new digital platform that will offer a wide range of financial investment services from stock to digital assets trading using artificial intelligence technology, the firm said Sunday.

This is the result of the company’s first committee meeting for digital innovation held on Friday after it has successfully turned into a fully private entity with the sale of a 9.3-percent stake held by state-run Korea Deposit Insurance Corp. on Nov. 22.

With nearly $1 billion capital injection planned for new growth, Woori Financial Group is seeking to woo millennials born between 1980 and 1995 with a new digital platform.

The conglomerate aims to build a digital platform that will be easy to access and trade anytime and anywhere. The platform will provide personalized financial information and investment solutions using AI technology, the company explained.

It already has launched a task force comprised of employees in their 20s and 30s to develop ideas and run tests for the platform. Experts on AI technology and user interface designing will also join the project.

The financial group plans to spend over 1 trillion won on creating services for millennial consumers to win against the fast-growing online financial service providers.

The group’s future depends on the millennial customers who will comprise 60 percent of the country`s working force by 2030, said Woori Financial Group Chairman Sohn Tae-seung, pledging to turn the firm into a game-changer, not a follower, through the new digital growth strategy.

Separately, the financial conglomerate is actively seeking to add stock brokerage units to grow beyond its mainstay banking business and win more young consumers.

By Moon Il-ho and Cho Jeehyun

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