Meritz Financial Group Inc. (Korean: 주식회사 메리츠금융지주) is a financial holding company headquartered in Seoul, South Korea. Meritz Financial, with its major subsidiaries including Meritz Fire & Marine Insurance and Meritz Securities, is one of the major financial groups in South Korea.[1]
Meritz Financial Group was formed when Hanjin Group founder Cho Choong-hoon died in 2002.[2] After the founder's death, the group was succeeded by his four sons. Cho Jung-ho, the founder's fourth son, inherited Hanjin's financial arm, including Oriental Fire & Marine Insurance, Meritz Securities, and Korean-French Banking.[3][4] In 2005, Cho formally broke off the financial affiliates from Hanjin and renamed them Meritz Financial Group.[5] In 2011, Meritz Fire & Marine Insurance launched a financial holding company. It was founded by spinning off a holding company, Meritz Financial Group Inc., from Meritz Fire & Marine Insurance.[6] Meritz Financial Group has five major subsidiaries, including Meritz Fire & Marine Insurance, Meritz Securities, Meritz Asset Management, Meritz Alternative Investment Management, and Meritz Capital.[7]