Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK) is pursuing an organizational overhaul to internalize its artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities.
According to financial industry sources on Sunday, IBK plans to conduct organizational restructuring consulting through mid-June to establish a mid- to long-term organizational innovation strategy.
The core of this organizational overhaul is to systematically embed AI across the bank's overall operations. IBK is currently operating a dedicated AI transformation (AX) unit within its Digital Group, pursuing innovations in lending processes and improvements to its consumer protection framework. Rather than merely adopting AI technology, IBK aims to integrate AI into its overall organizational operations—including work methods, decision-making structures, and risk management systems—to boost productivity and competitiveness.
The restructuring reflects the strong commitment of IBK President Chang Min-young. In his inaugural address in February, Chang declared that he would "completely redesign the organizational DNA to be AI-friendly and reinvent IBK as an AI company." An IBK official said, "Through organizational diagnosis, we will strengthen the AX division," adding, "We will also pursue digital transformation (DX) in parallel to find ways to respond flexibly to the changing financial environment."
Strengthening IBK's position as a state-run bank dedicated to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is another key objective of the reorganization. IBK has supplied funding to companies facing management difficulties or in need of investment capital, and now aims to build a more execution-oriented organizational structure to align with the government's stance on productive finance and inclusive finance.
The organizational overhaul is expected to be implemented alongside the regular personnel changes in the second half of July. It will be the first reorganization since Chang took office. "Organizational reshuffles have typically been carried out at the same time as regular personnel changes," an IBK official said.
