South Korea to sell Woori Finance shares for $740 million

According to Reuters, Woori Finance is currently 73 percent owned by the South Korean government.

The possible sale will come as Woori shares more than doubled on the year, taking its share price closer to what the government wants to fetch from selling the country's No.3 banking group.

"We view market conditions as having improved," Kwon, Hyouk Se, secretary general of the Financial Services Commission, told a parliamentary audit session.

"We will make a decision to sell 7 percent within the year by holding a meeting of the Public Fund Oversight Committee, depending on market conditions," he added, in reference to Woori.

The fund oversight committee was launched this year to speed up the sale of restructured companies, including Daewoo International and Ssangyong Engineering & Construction) to make up for a tax income shortage.

The government is seeking to sell 23 percent of Woori Finance through a block trade or other public deals, with the remaining 50 percent to be offered to a strategic buyer.

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