Song Jong-wook, chief executive and president of South Korea’s Kwangju Bank Co., will serve another term and spearhead the regional bank under JB Financial Group.

Kwangju Bank on Wednesday held an executive nomination committee meeting and picked Song as candidate for its chief executive. The company will confirm the nomination in March when Song’s term is expected to end after holding a shareholders’ meeting and board meeting.

Song – who started off as a bank clerk and moved upwards to become president of Kwangju Bank in September, 2017 – is highly evaluated as having improved the company’s overall performance based on customer-focused on-site management.

Kwangju Bank’s net income reached 141.4 billion won ($125.9 million) as of end of September, last year, while BIS capital adequacy ratio 16.31 percent, and non-performing loan ratio 0.51 percent.

Song worked to expand Kwangju Bank’s market share not only in its home base Gwangju and South Jeolla Province but also in the capital area. Kwangju Bank said that Song also boosted the lender’s social corporate responsibility activities. During Song’s first term, Kwangju Bank also launched regional specialty products and showed stable growth by winning bid to manage regional government entity’s public safe.

Song said that he is aware of negative outlook for this year’s economic conditions at home and abroad but the lender will strive to realize quality growth based on change and innovation.

By Kim Kang-rae and Lee Eun-joo

[ⓒ Pulse by Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]