Betting 100 Billion on Toss... The Background of Donggeol Lee's Steadfast Determination

Chairman Dong-geol Lee of KDB, Accelerates 'Innovative Growth' Efforts
KDB to Confirm 100 Billion KRW Investment in Toss as Early as Next Week

"Although it may not be at the level of the Vision Fund led by SoftBank Chairman Masayoshi Son, it seems necessary for us to also gather funds and focus on supporting scale-ups (high growth)."

Lee Dong-gull, Chairman of the Korea Development Bank (KDB), is accelerating his 'innovation growth' initiatives. This comes as he has decided to make a large-scale investment of around 100 billion KRW in the fintech startup Toss (Viva Republica). This strong will of Chairman Lee to lead future innovation growth, beyond the fixed notion of KDB as a bank solely dedicated to corporate restructuring, is beginning to show results one by one.

According to the financial sector on the 18th, KDB is expected to hold a credit approval committee meeting as early as next week to give final approval for the 100 billion KRW investment in Toss. A KDB official said, "Specific details such as the investment period and amount will be finalized through the credit approval committee," adding, "The large-scale investment amounting to 100 billion KRW carries significant meaning."

The Toss investment was led by KDB's 'Scale-up Finance Office.' The 'Scale-up Finance Office' was established at the end of 2019 with Chairman Lee's special mission to nurture prospective unicorn companies.

The amount KDB is betting on Toss is around 100 billion KRW, which is larger than any startup investment it has made so far. Considering that KDB invested a total of 480.8 billion KRW in 36 companies last year, the scale of this investment can be inferred. The background for this bold investment decision is attributed to Chairman Lee's philosophy of 'innovation finance.'

Chairman Lee has consistently argued that to invigorate the Korean economy, which struggles to escape a 'low growth trend,' at least 'dozens of unicorn companies (unlisted startups with a valuation of over 1 trillion KRW)' must emerge. For startups to grow rapidly, smooth capital supply is essential, and finance plays a crucial role, which KDB intends to take on.

It is also analyzed that Chairman Lee's interest in startups and fintech is reflected in this move. Since his inauguration, he has visited global startup hubs in Europe and the United States multiple times, pointing out that 'domestic scale-up investments are insufficient compared to advanced countries.' An industry insider said, "The large-scale investment in Toss is believed to strongly reflect Chairman Lee's will," adding, "As the financial industry rapidly shifts toward fintech, KDB had no choice but to actively prepare for and respond to this change."

Meanwhile, Toss, which planned a 200 billion KRW rights offering ahead of the launch of Toss Bank in the second half of this year, is reported to have more than doubled its total fundraising amount with KDB stepping in as an investor. The participation of a policy bank has led to more active attraction of investments from major companies and institutions.

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