The investment attraction effort pursued over 15 years by Incheon Metropolitan City (Mayor Park Chan-dae) and the Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority (Commissioner Kim Jong-cheol) has borne fruit with Hana Financial Group. With the opening ceremony of Hana Financial Group’s Cheongna Headquarters held in Cheongna International City on October 2, the Hana Financial Town — developed in stages since the first agreement in 2012 — has now been completed.
 [코리안투데이] Opening ceremony of Hana Financial Group’s Cheongna Headquarters © 장형임 기자 |
Incheon City announced on the 2nd that the Hana Financial Town development project has been completed with the opening of Hana Financial Group’s Cheongna Headquarters. The opening ceremony, held that day in Cheongna International City, was attended by Incheon Mayor Park Chan-dae, Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority Commissioner Kim Jong-cheol, Hana Financial Group Chairman Ham Young-joo, and other key guests from home and abroad, along with group executives and staff.
The development of Hana Financial Town dates back to 2012. At that time, Incheon City, the Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority, the Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH), and Hana Financial Group signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to develop the financial town. The city subsequently continued to provide administrative support to ensure the project advanced steadily, while Hana Financial Group carried out its phased investment plans.
As a result, an integrated data center consolidating the group’s financial IT infrastructure opened in 2017, and in 2019 the Hana Global Campus, dedicated to cultivating global financial talent, began operations. The group headquarters was completed in May this year, and from September the relocation of employees from major affiliates began in earnest, completing the Hana Financial Town.
About 2,200 employees from 10 affiliates, including Hana Financial Group, Hana Bank, Hana Securities, and Hana Card, are being relocated to the Cheongna Headquarters in sequence. Including the staff stationed at the existing integrated data center, some 4,000 finance and IT professionals will work in the Hana Financial Town. With the financial group’s headquarters, major affiliates, the integrated data center’s IT infrastructure, AI research and development functions, and global financial talent cultivation functions all gathered in one place, the industrial ecosystem linking finance with IT, data, and digital technology is expected to be strengthened.
The significance of this relocation for the region is clearly evident in its employment and economic ripple effects. Hana Financial Group estimates that the headquarters relocation will generate direct and indirect economic effects of about 3.4 trillion won over the next 10 years, and direct and indirect employment effects of about 15,000 people, including the inflow of partner companies. Thousands of jobs and the influx of partner firms are expected to affect not only the industrial base of Cheongna International City but also consumption and commercial districts in neighboring areas.
Beyond relocating its headquarters, Hana Financial Group will also expand financial support for shared growth with local businesses. To foster innovative companies in the Incheon region, it plans to establish a 200 billion won ‘Unicorn Fund’ and to secure up to 400 billion won in investment resources through measures such as fund matching with asset managers. It will also pursue a total of 150 billion won in guarantee support for technology-based small and medium-sized enterprises. This can serve as practical support for local small and medium-sized enterprises and startups in raising growth capital.
The Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority plans to extend the effects of Hana Financial Group’s relocation and the concentration of professional talent into follow-up investment attraction. While inducing investment from companies in digital finance areas such as digital assets, fintech, blockchain, and data, it will also work to attract overseas financial institutions and foreign-affiliated companies by leveraging accessibility to Incheon International Airport and Hana Financial Group’s global network. In addition, it plans to continuously expand the financial industry base by connecting the international organizations and climate finance foundation established in the IFEZ with Cheongna’s private and digital financial industries.
Incheon Mayor Park Chan-dae said, ‘It is deeply moving to see 15 years of investment attraction efforts bear fruit with the completion of Hana Financial Town,’ adding, ‘Even as the financial environment and economic conditions changed several times, Hana Financial kept its promises and put down roots in Cheongna step by step. Hana Financial is now an Incheon company.’ He went on to say, ‘We will find the way together so that industries where finance, data, and AI meet can grow in Cheongna, and we will attend carefully to ensure that the fruits are shared evenly with the region’s small and medium-sized enterprises and small business owners. I look forward to Incheon City and Hana Financial Group becoming one and creating a new 100 years of companionship.’
지역 홍보대사 신청 기자양성과정 신청 코리안투데이 지부장 신청 코리안투데이 인천강화코리안브랜드대상 신청 최고경영인대상 신청 소비자만족도대상 신청
<저작권자 ⓒ 코리안투데이(The Korean Today) 무단전재 및 재배포 금지>
