Woori Bank to channel W400b into North Jeolla offshore wind industry

Woori Bank said Friday it will provide 400 billion won ($281 million) in productive finance to support the offshore wind power industry in North Jeolla Province.

The bank signed a memorandum of understanding on regional industry development through productive finance support with North Jeolla Province, Gochang-gun, the National Credit Union Federation of Korea and Dongchon Wind Power at the North Jeolla Province government office on Thursday.

The signing ceremony was attended by North Jeolla Province Governor Lee Won-taek, Woori Bank IB Group head Lee Myeong-su, Gochang-gun County Chief Shim Deok-seop, National Credit Union Federation of Korea Chairman Ko Young-cheol and Dongchon Wind Power CEO Oh Hee-jong, along with other senior executives from the participating organizations.

Under the agreement, Woori Bank will support the construction of infrastructure for the Gochang offshore wind power project, which has a total project cost of 400 billion won.

The project involves building and operating a 76.2-megawatt offshore wind farm in the public waters off Gochang-gun, North Jeolla Province. The electricity generated will be supplied directly and indirectly to advanced strategic industries in the province, including a physical AI valley, a robot manufacturing parts cluster and a mobility cluster.

Woori Bank plans to take the largest share of funding among participating financial institutions by combining loans with contributions from its self-established Woori Regional Development Infrastructure Fund, serving as the catalyst for cooperative and productive finance.

Taking into account the nature of infrastructure projects, the bank also plans to provide financial support across the entire project cycle — from early-stage permitting and feasibility review through project financing procurement and ground-breaking.

Woori Bank said the agreement goes beyond supporting the Gochang offshore wind project and marks the starting point of medium- to long-term cooperation aimed at nurturing the broader offshore wind industry ecosystem in North Jeolla Province.

Woori Financial Group had previously established the 500 billion won Woori Regional Development Infrastructure Fund as part of its renewable energy investment initiative.

Wang Je-yeon, deputy head of Woori Bank's infrastructure finance division, said the bank had "built a strong partnership with North Jeolla Province on the back of our competitiveness in arranging renewable energy financing, following the opening of the Jeonbuk Innovation City Woori WON Finance Town last July," adding that the bank would "work to create a model case of productive, cooperative finance going forward."