The labor union for Korea Exchange Bank welcomed the new chief on his first day at work with roses on Monday in a sign that it will support the leadership appointed by Hana Financial Group, the bank’s new owner.

KEB’s union leader Kim Kwi-chul and his team embraced new CEO Yun Yong-ro as he entered the bank’s headquarters and called Yun “a new member of the family that we all should work with closely.”

The gesture signals a fresh start to the partnership between the management and the union, whose relationship remained sour for the past year as workers protested Hana’s takeover of KEB. Hana managed to win the support of the union on Friday after assuring them it will keep the staff and guaranteed independent management of the bank for the next five years.

“I will strive to restore the strong bond this workplace used to have. Part of my team’s efforts will be spent to raise the quality of our services to bring back customers,” Yun said.

The vice chairman of Hana Financial Group and former head of the state-run Industrial Bank of Korea, was nominated to head KEB on Mar. 7 of last year. He was formally appointed to run the bank last week as Hana completed its 4.4 trillion won ($3.9 billion) acquisition from U.S.-based Lone Star Funds.

Lone Star closed its businesses in Korea after wrestling with local authorities over selling its stake in KEB, which it acquired in 2003.

By Cynthia J. Kim (cynthiak@heraldcorp.com)