Standard Chartered poised to slash offices in Korea Posted : 2021-05-17 16:40 SC Bank Korea denies any immediate plans to shut down branches here By Lee Min-hyung Standard Chartered Bank Korea CEO Park Jong-bok Standard Chartered (SC) Bank Korea is facing mounting pressure to reduce the number of its sales offices here amid its mother group's decision to close down half of its branches, mostly in Asia. The London-based international banking group recently unveiled the plan to cut its 776 branches globally down to around 400. Although the group's profit structure is heavily reliant on Asia, the Korean subsidiary will nonetheless likely be a primary target for SC's global drive to close a number of offices. SC Bank Korea runs 199 sales offices nationwide, and the company is one of the major profit sources for the group.