LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 13, 2004--To broaden current organizational strengths and establish a more scalable infrastructure to support continued growth, Center Financial Corporation (Nasdaq:CLFC) today announced newly created corporate positions, promotions and recent appointments. The company also said that its chief financial officer, Yong Hwa (Y.H.) Kim, has left the company to pursue other opportunities.

"Center Bank has achieved tremendous growth, reaching in excess of $1 billion in total assets at March 31, 2004 from less than $300 million five years ago," said (Paul) Seon-Hong Kim, president and chief executive officer. "Y.H. was a valuable member of the management team during this initial phase of growth, and we wish her well in her future endeavors.

"As we begin our search for a new chief financial officer, we are pleased to have a strengthened accounting department with the added expertise of two important appointments," said Kim. "We have also been enhancing our management structure to better leverage the expertise of senior management and to position our organization for new levels of achievement."

The company named Debbie Kong as controller and James Park as treasurer of Center Financial.

Among the management changes: responsibilities of the chief lending officer have been separated to two new positions. James Hong, currently chief lending officer, was promoted to executive vice president and chief credit officer, responsible for loan portfolio management, risk assessment/management and loan processing, as well as overseeing general lending operations. Other responsibilities will be assumed by Sung C. Lee, who was promoted to executive vice president and chief marketing officer from senior vice president and manager of Center Bank's Olympic Office. In the new position, Mr. Lee is responsible for the development and introduction of loan products and supports the lending activities of the company's 18 profit centers.

Additionally, Jong Ha Choi was promoted to executive vice president and chief information officer, responsible for leading the company's development of innovative products and services to further enhance Center Bank's relationships with its customers. Hong Sik Hur was promoted to executive vice president and chief administrative officer from senior vice president and branch support executive.

Also, James Ryu was promoted to senior vice president and is responsible for areas of compliance, including regulatory communications, examination coordination, fair lending and BSA/USA PATRIOT Act. He also has assumed responsibility for human resources, public relations, advertising and investor relations.

From 1997 to most recently, Ms. Debbie Kong served as a first vice president and accounting officer at Pacific Union Bank, responsible for the supervision and production of financial statements and regulatory reports for filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and banking examiners. Previously, she was an accounting officer at Center Bank responsible for accounts payable, fixed assets and overall financial data reports and regulatory report production. Ms. Kong earned her bachelor of arts in business administration from California State University in Fullerton.

Mr. James Park worked with Pacific Union Bank as first vice president and investment manager, responsible for all treasury operational activities and directing the strategy and execution of the hedging of interest rate risk exposures, cash management and reporting. His prior banking experience includes successively responsible appointments at Manufacturers Bank, East West Bancorp and Bank of America. Mr. Park holds a bachelor of arts in economics from University of California, Berkeley.

Kim added: "This expanded leadership structure is aligned with our guiding principles: Our unyielding aim is to become a performance-oriented organization, supported by measurable results, leading toward superior customer service and exceptional reputation. We believe our commitment to these principles will keep us on the path to deliver more in terms of customer and shareholder value and to continue our record of strong growth and sound profitability."

About Center Financial Corporation

Center Financial Corporation, the financial holding company of Center Bank, had total assets of $1.1 billion at March 31, 2004. Founded in 1986, Center Bank is a community bank offering a full-range of financial services and is one of the nation's largest financial institutions focusing on the Korean-American community. It specializes in commercial and SBA loans and trade finance products for multi-ethnic and small business customers. Center Bank operates 14 full-service branches in Southern California and Chicago, plus five loan production offices located in Phoenix, Seattle, Denver, Washington D.C. and Las Vegas. Center Bank is a California state-chartered and FDIC-insured financial institution.

This release may contain forward-looking statements, which are included in accordance with the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The cautionary statements contained in Center Financial Corporation's filings made from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission are incorporated herein by reference. Actual results and performance in future periods may be materially different from any future results or performance suggested by the forward-looking statements in this release. Center Financial Corporation and Center Bank caution readers not to place undue reliance on these statements. Such forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this release. Center Financial Corporation and Center Bank expressly disclaim any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements found herein to reflect any changes in any of the companies' expectations of results or any change in events.

    CONTACT: Center Financial Corporation
             James Ryu, 213-251-2206
             or
             PondelWilkinson Inc.
             Investor Relations:
             Angie Yang/Cecilia Wilkinson, 310-279-5980
             investor@pondel.com

    SOURCE: Center Financial Corporation