Kim Juhyun, Chair of the Korea Federation of Credit Finance, "Card Industry Must Develop More Fintech-Style"

Inaugural Address on the 1st Anniversary of Taking Office

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki Ha-young] Kim Joo-hyun, Chairman of the Korea Credit Finance Association, promised to support the card industry in developing more fintech-like capabilities than fintech companies themselves in the post-COVID-19 era.

On the 17th, marking the first anniversary of his inauguration, Chairman Kim stated in his commemorative speech, "The card industry is facing competition with giant fintech companies that are dominating customer touchpoints based on powerful platforms."

Chairman Kim emphasized, "Innovative changes in card companies are necessary," adding, "We will strive to create fair competition conditions with fintech companies so that card companies can act as first movers, not fast followers, in financial innovation."

He also promised, "We will continue to consult with the government to enable participation in payment-related systems such as open banking, MyPayment, and comprehensive payment services, in addition to the MyData industry, to secure competitiveness in the payment market."

Organizational restructuring will also be undertaken to ensure effective support for capital and new technology finance companies. Chairman Kim said, "We will newly appoint a head of the support division to be in charge of responses to the National Assembly and media, and the heads responsible for capital and new technology finance will focus solely on industry tasks." He added, "We will transfer the Credit Finance Education and Training Institute to the Finance Headquarters to improve the quality of education in the capital and new technology finance sectors." Furthermore, with the opening of the new National Assembly, a legal team will be established to respond to major legislative initiatives.

Lastly, Chairman Kim stressed the importance of "securing trust" in the credit finance industry. He said, "Although the status and image of the credit finance industry have improved due to the COVID-19 crisis, securing public trust will become even more important." He continued, "The recent passage of the Financial Consumer Protection Act means that we will work hard to enhance the public image and secure trust in the credit finance industry through thorough consumer protection."

Regarding financial security amid digitalization, he emphasized, "We will cooperate with the industry and related institutions such as the Financial Security Institute to explore multifaceted measures to minimize the possibility of financial accidents."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.