Hana Financial Group opens Cheongna headquarters; Ham Young-joo vows 'new path in finance'

Hana Financial Group Chairman Ham Young-joo said Friday he would "boldly open a powerful new century for Hana Financial Group through daring challenges and relentless innovation," speaking at the opening ceremony of the group's new Cheongna headquarters.

Ham attended the morning ceremony at the Cheongna headquarters in Incheon, calling it "the culmination of the Hana Financial Town journey and the starting point of a great transformation that channels the capabilities of every affiliate and employee in one direction." He added that the group would "open a new path in finance, drawing on Incheon's strength as a global city and the financial expertise Hana Financial Group has built up," pledging to serve as a regional financial partner that connects finance closely to the city's livelihoods, emerging industries and investment policy.

The event, held under the theme "One Sincerity, a Future We Open Together," was attended by Incheon Mayor Park Chan-dae and other guests, along with executives and employees from across the group.

Before the main ceremony, a key handover ceremony was held at the Global Field plaza in front of the Cheongna headquarters to formally mark the opening of the group's Cheongna era — signifying the close of a 15-year journey to complete Hana Financial Town and the beginning of a new century at Cheongna.

In his congratulatory remarks, Incheon Mayor Park said he was moved to see "15 years of investment attraction efforts bear fruit in the completion of Hana Financial Town." He added: "Even as the financial environment and economic conditions changed many times, Hana Financial kept its promises and put down roots in Cheongna step by step. Hana Financial is now an Incheon company."

Park also said the city would "work together to find ways for industries where finance, data and AI converge to grow in Cheongna," and would "carefully ensure that the benefits are shared broadly with local small and medium-sized enterprises and small business owners." He expressed hope that Incheon and Hana Financial Group would "become one and build a new 100 years of partnership together."

Hana Financial Group has been developing the Hana Financial Town project in Incheon's Cheongna International City since 2012.

The group opened an integrated data center there in 2017, followed by Hana Global Campus in 2019. With the Cheongna headquarters now open, the blueprint for Hana Financial Town drawn up 15 years ago has become a reality.

The new headquarters, which serves as the group's central hub, spans 15 above-ground floors and seven below-ground floors, with a total floor area of approximately 128,000 square meters. About 2,200 executives and employees from Hana Financial Group and 10 major affiliates have been relocating there in phases since September, with the total workforce — including staff already at the integrated data center — expected to reach about 4,000.

Hana Financial also built a smart work center inside the headquarters, enabling employees to work without being tied to a fixed desk or wired connection through cloud PCs, instant messaging and softphone systems. The project marked the first time in the Korean financial sector that technology from SK Telecom and Samsung Electronics was integrated into a workplace environment.