Business Post | [Who’s Who Today] Woori Card’s New ‘Card Jeongseok’ — Jeong Won-jae: “Change or Die”
Business Post reported that Woori Card CEO Jeong Won-jae is pursuing a new success story by applying Korean painter Kim Hyun Jung's 'Gwayubulgeup' to the design of the new card 'Card Jeongseok.' Jeong personally proposed the concept and design over three months after taking office, pursuing an 'art-vertising' strategy that blends art with advertising, with a target of 10% market share. Woori Card also plans further collaboration with Kim on the next card in the series.
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[Who's Who Today] Woori Card's new 'Card Jeongseok' — Jeong Won-jae: "Change or Die"
Reporter Kim Soo-yeon, ksy@businesspost.co.kr | Posted 2018-04-23 16:06:52
▲ Woori Card CEO Jeong Won-jae (left) poses with artist Kim Hyun Jung at the 'Card Jeongseok Point Special Exhibition' held on the 4th at Insa Art Center in Jongno-gu, Seoul. <Woori Card>
Woori Card CEO Jeong Won-jae, already known for his 'high-school-graduate salesman's success story,' is now taking on a new challenge.
This time, he's writing 'the essentials.' Not 'the essentials of math,' but 'the essentials of cards' — aiming to write another success story with 'Card Jeongseok.'
The word 'jeongseok' (essentials/canon) evokes an air of the unchanging. But what Jeong means by 'Card Jeongseok' feels quite different. If anything, it puts relentless 'change' front and center.
"A card is a living thing" — that conviction runs through 'Card Jeongseok.' The unchanging truth of the card industry, in his view, is that "only constant change ensures survival," and that very 'change' is the industry's real 'essential.'
Jeong has put out 'Card Jeongseok,' a distinctively concepted card product blending Korean charm with a contemporary sensibility.
He spent his first three months in office focused entirely on launching 'Card Jeongseok,' personally proposing its concept and design in hopes of making it Woori Card's signature product.
"With hallyu — BTS and the rest — enjoying worldwide popularity, I wanted to carry Korean beauty on the card," he said. "I wanted it to reflect both traditional Korean beauty and the current moment, and it just so happened that the work of up-and-coming Korean painter Kim Hyun Jung was recommended to me."
Artist Kim Hyun Jung is known for paintings depicting a woman elegantly dressed in hanbok, relaxed, eating jjajangmyeon, samgyeopsal, or snacks, or riding a motorcycle. She has been praised for reinterpreting Korean painting through the lens of the latest trends.
In 2017, she was named to Forbes Asia's '30 Under 30.' Her Naesoong series is her best-known body of work.
On the 'Card Jeongseok' Point card, one work from the Naesoong series, titled 'Gwayubulgeup,' is used as the overall design, with the Korean lettering 'Card Jeongseok' running vertically through the center — a design meant to blend Korean tradition with a contemporary feel.
'Gwayubulgeup' depicts a woman buried in flowers, covering her nose against their overpowering scent. It was chosen for 'Card Jeongseok' to carry the message that spending, too, calls for moderation — that too much is as bad as too little.
To let the artwork stand out, the member number and English name were both moved to the back of the card.
'Card Jeongseok' is also notable for its use of 'artvertising' — a blend of art and advertising.
As a sales-career veteran, Jeong reportedly also kept promotion in mind when choosing the design for 'Card Jeongseok.'
"More than half of card sales happen at bank counters," he said. "I wanted to use art to give the card a story, so customers would find 'Card Jeongseok' approachable and relatable."
As merchant-fee cuts battered the card industry, Jeong chose to treat merchant fees as effectively a lost cause and instead focus on strengthening sales competitiveness and diversifying revenue to weather the downturn.
The Card Jeongseok Point card carries a 0.8% point-back rate — 0.1 points higher than Shinhan Card's Deep Dream card.
Using big data to identify frequently used categories, it offers higher accrual — 1% at department stores/discount stores, 3% for movies, 5% for phone bills, coffee shops, and public transit. Paying via Naver Pay, Kakao Pay, Payco, or SSG Pay adds another 3%.
At the launch exhibition for 'Card Jeongseok Point' on the 4th in Jongno-gu, Seoul, Jeong said, "We'll use Card Jeongseok to reach 10% market share," adding, "only past 10% can a card company easily form partnerships and alliances with others."
As of end-March, Woori Card's market share stood at around 8%. The plan is to reach 9% in the first half and 10% within 2018, with an ultimate target of 15%.
According to the financial industry on the 23rd, amid an industry-wide profit slump last year, Woori Card's first-quarter 2018 net profit rose 34.1% year over year. Credit card fee income rose 5.1%, and membership grew 0.8%.
Woori Card also plans a discount-focused product as the next entry in the 'Card Jeongseok' series — reportedly also to be developed in collaboration with Kim Hyun Jung.
That is the essential of relentless change Jeong Won-jae is writing. [Business Post, Reporter Kim Soo-yeon]