(Bloomberg) -- The banking unit of South Korea’s Woori Financial Group Inc. provided tens of millions of dollars in inappropriate loans to relatives of the group’s former boss, the country’s Financial Supervisory Service said.
Woori Bank provided 42 loans worth a total of 61.6 billion won ($45 million) to 20 companies with ties to family members of the former leader between April 2020 and January 2024, the regulator said, without naming the official. Yonhap News named the person as Son Tae-seung, who held leadership roles in Woori Financial from 2019 to early last year.
Some 28 loans worth a total 35 billion won were provided without the correct screening procedures, or failed to meet the management guidelines, the FSS said, with more than half of them now non-performing. The FSS plans to impose sanctions on the lender and refer the case to the investigation authorities.
Woori Bank apologized in a statement, saying it had taken disciplinary measures earlier this year, including dismissal, over eight employees involved in the case. The lender said it expects to report between 8.2 billion won to 15.8 billion won of losses on the bad loans.
“We will fully cooperate with the regulator and the investigation authorities,” the bank said.
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