HF Repledges to Lead Social Value Creation

- In celebration of HF’s 16th anniversary, CEO Lee Jung-Hwan presents future growth directions

Marking its 16th anniversary this year, Korea Housing Finance Corporation (HF, Lee Jung-Hwan) pledges its leadership in creating social value through inclusive housing finance services. To this end, it will strengthen customized debt restructuring programs for underprivileged groups and serve as a safeguard for a happy retirement through JooTaekYeonKeum and HF Happy Care Service amid the rapid aging and rising elderly poverty in society.

On February 27, 2020, HF cancelled its anniversary celebration and donated the allocated budget for corporate anniversary gifts to Green Umbrella Child Fund Korea. The donation was used to purchase protective masks and emergency food kits for low-income children under the care of the Fund’s Busan child center. These children have been left unattended due to the recent COVID-19 pandemic. 

HF has provided KRW 305 trillion in state-sponsored mortgages to date, leading qualitative improvements in the nation’s household debt structure. It launched the New Relief Conversion Loan last year, easing household debt risks and the interest burden of ordinary homebuyers. In addition, HF has offered KRW 376 trillion in cumulative credit guarantees through the end of last year, improving the housing welfare of low-income families that do not own a home. It has also developed new guarantee products for young people and other vulnerable groups seeking jeonse or monthly rent loans. Since its launch in 2007, its JooTaekYeonKeum reverse mortgage program has provided KRW 5 trillion in monthly payouts to more than 70,000 senior citizens, helping them enjoy a happy retirement. 

Furthermore, HF’s successful issuance of its EUR 1 billion in covered bonds with a yield of ？0.02% has cemented its international standing as a housing finance institution.

In his celebratory remarks for the anniversary, HF CEO Lee Jung-Hwan urged HF staff to capitalize on rapidly evolving digital technologies and make HF into a competitive financial institution that leads digital innovation. He also stressed, “This year, we will improve convenience and productivity in our loan underwriting and achieve company-wide digital innovation across all our business divisions, including home loan guarantees and reverse mortgages.” 

He went on to say, “Given our strong public nature as a public institution, we should work to provide new products and services that can meet public needs in a timely manner. Also, for tenants living in a detached or multifamily house, unreturned security deposits have become a social issue. To minimize their suffering, I ask all our staff to develop a guarantee product this year that can protect them from this risk.” 

Lastly, he added, “We should secure a new engine that will drive our future growth by offering personalized housing finance products and comprehensive financial consulting that covers the entire life cycle and by developing new ICT-based housing finance services.”