Woori Bank, headquartered in Seoul, is the second bank from South Korea to enter Indian market. Sinhan Bank, a part of Sinhan Financial Group, has set up its first branch in Mumbai in 1996, and has two more branches, one in New Delhi and another one in Vellore district, Tamil Nadu.
Woori Bank is a subsidiary of the parent company Woori Financial Group. The bank was founded back in 1899, originally called Daehan Cheon-il Bank, renamed Joseon Sangup Bank in 1911, then Commercial Bank of Korea in 1950s. Following the 1997 Asian financial crisis, it merged with the former Hanil Bank and Peace Bank to become Hanvit Bank. Woori Bank adopted its current name in 2002. Woori Bank has served the Seoul Metropolitan Government for over 100 years and is the primary banking partner of 70 percent of Korea's public institutions. Its Jongno branch is located in the Gwangtonggwan, the oldest continuously-operating bank building in Korea. It was registered as one of city's protected monuments on March 5, 2001. In 2004, Woori Bank opened its Gaeseong Industrial Complex branch, in Gaeseong, North Korea. In May 2009, Woori Bank became the first South Korean bank to issue UnionPay debit cards in China. In March 2010 it became the first foreign bank to issue Shanghai Tourism Cards in mainland China. Woori Bank has operations in Bangladesh and in Indonesia. On 14 March 2012, its Indonesian subsidiary, Bank Woori Indonesia, announced a plan to merge with a local bank, Bank Saudara. In April 2012, Woori Bank opened its first branch in India at Chennai. Woori Bank is the first South Korean bank to support web browsers other than Internet Explorer for online banking in Korea. Its foreign divisions, such as the one based in China, still require IE.