Ryu Young-jun: "Korean Fintech Has a Long Way to Go, Focus Should Be on Promotion Rather Than Regulation"

Ryu Young-jun, Chairman of the Fintech Industry Association, Press Conference
Only One Unicorn; Development Ranking Drops 8 Levels Compared to Last Year

Ryu Young-jun, Chairman of the Korea Fintech Industry Association, held a press conference on the 24th to discuss the achievements of South Korea's fintech industry, the association's role and vision, as well as the industry's opinions on recent policies and regulations.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kiho Sung] Ryu Young-jun, Chairman of the Korea Fintech Industry Association, emphasized on the 24th that "continuous support measures are necessary to foster many fintech companies capable of competing in the global market."

Ryu, who is also the CEO of Kakao Pay, shared the achievements of the domestic fintech industry, the association's role and vision, as well as recent industry opinions on policies and regulations at a press conference held that day. Ryu's term as chairman is set to end in March next year.

Ryu explained, "Thanks to the innovative services of domestic fintech companies, the financial lives of the public have become easier and more convenient, the threshold for professional financial services has lowered, and financial consumers have been able to save time and costs." However, he noted that compared to existing financial institutions or the global fintech market, Korean fintech is still in its early stages.

In fact, when compared to existing financial institutions or global companies, domestic fintech companies still have a long way to go in terms of scale. Among the 94 fintech unicorns worldwide, only one is a Korean company, and the total number of fintech workers in Korea is equivalent to that of just one global fintech company. The fintech industry development ranking also dropped eight places from 18th last year to 26th.

At the event, opinions were also presented on the need for policy support ahead of next year’s presidential election. Jang Sung-won, Secretary General of the Fintech Industry Association, stated, "The amendment to the Electronic Financial Transactions Act (EFTA) is a ‘Digital Finance Basic Act’ reflecting changes in the times, and it represents the direction the entire Korean financial industry should move forward in," adding, "The introduction of small licenses will facilitate the entry of new players, contributing to the creation of a dynamic financial ecosystem, which will ultimately lead to increased consumer benefits."

Additionally, requests were made for ▲an approach of ‘same license, same regulation’ instead of ‘same function, same regulation,’ ▲the establishment of a tailored regulatory system considering the characteristics of online financial platform services, and ▲the abolition of the ‘network separation regulation’ that lowers the technological competitiveness of the entire financial sector.

Ryu emphasized, "Overseas fintech companies are growing beyond unicorns into even stronger dragons," and added, "Now is the time to focus on fostering fintech rather than regulating it."

Furthermore, he stated that the association will play a role in building a hub for nurturing professional talent, activating domestic and international investment, and supporting benchmarking of global innovation cases to ensure the sustainable growth of the domestic fintech industry.

Meanwhile, at the conference, Ryu, along with Secretary General Jang, Auditor Kim Si-mok (lawyer at Yulchon LLC), and Vice Chairman Jung In-young (CEO of December & Company Asset Management), each presented the fintech industry's positions and suggestions regarding the amendment of the Electronic Financial Transactions Act, financial platform regulations, and network separation regulations.

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