[비즈한국] It has been confirmed that New Days, an advertising affiliate of OK Financial Group, has removed "advertising" from its business objectives and added "financial services." New Days is the company that produced numerous advertisements for OK Financial, including "Miz Sarang" and "Rush & Cash." Although it was acquired by OK Financial in May 2020, it ceased operations in September of last year. Attention is now focused on whether OK Financial, which has faced criticism over its complex, chairman Choi Yoon-centered governance structure, is undergoing a full-scale reorganization of its affiliates.
According to the corporate registration, on March 31, New Days added "financial consulting" and "investment of idle funds" as new business purposes, while deleting existing purposes such as "advertising agency (TV, radio, newspapers, magazines)," "advertisement production," "internet advertising," and "public relations agency." However, it retained services such as video production, wholesale and retail of fashion accessories, and e-commerce.
New Days was a comprehensive advertising agency that handled commercials for OK Financial affiliates such as OK Savings Bank, Rush & Cash, and OK Holdings Daebu. In addition to OK Financial, it handled advertisements for NH Investment & Securities005940, NH NongHyup Life Insurance, and Lotte Tour. Its work includes the comic-concept ads featuring OK Financial's mascot "Eut-man," as well as the Rush & Cash "Mu-gwajang" series and the "It's My Choice" campaign.
Before coming under the OK Financial umbrella, New Days had managed advertisements for OK Financial’s lending brands (such as Miz Sarang and Rush & Cash) as early as 2009. In May 2020, it became an OK Financial affiliate after Miz Sarang acquired a 96.2% stake in the company. As OK Financial liquidated its lending business in January 2024, OK Investment Partners absorbed Miz Sarang, and New Days was transferred along with it.
New Days, which was still recruiting new staff, including advertising account executives, as late as April 2024, suddenly ceased operations at the end of September. Although it was an advertising agency with over 30 years of history since its establishment in 1993, it essentially shut its doors less than five years after being acquired by OK Financial.
Along with the cessation of operations, the leadership also changed. Shim Sang-don, CEO of OK Next, was appointed as the new CEO and internal director of New Days on September 30, 2024. As a key figure in OK Financial, CEO Shim holds multiple executive positions across several affiliates, including CEO of OK Holdings Daebu and OK Next. OK Financial did not disclose the reason for closing the business.
New Days also moved its office before changing its business objectives. After becoming an OK Financial affiliate, it had been located at the Seoul Chamber of Commerce and Industry, where OK Holdings Daebu is based, but moved on March 1 to a building in Jung-gu, Seoul, where OK Investment Partners and OK Ventures are located. Previously, on February 5, Baek Seung-kwon, CEO of OK Investment Partners, was appointed as a non-executive director.
It appears that OK Financial is streamlining its affiliates alongside the liquidation of its lending business. In December 2024, the name of OK Company, a private firm owned by OK Financial Chairman Choi Yoon, was changed to C&P Company. Subsequently, the lending firms Yellow Capital Daebu and H&H Financial Daebu were renamed Proidea Holdings and H&H, respectively, and several companies formerly located in Magok-dong, Seoul, including B-Collect Daebu, were moved to Goyang, Gyeonggi-do.
However, OK Financial stated that it is not engaging in new business through New Days. A company representative said, "The financial business was likely added for the purpose of managing the remaining funds of the company that ceased operations."