Next Fintech Industry Association President Race Confirmed as a Three-Way Contest Among Lee Hyemin, Jung Inyoung, and Lee Geunju

Election Campaign Starts from the 19th
Final Decision on the 17th of Next Month

From the left in the photo: Lee Hyemin, CEO of Pinda; Jeong Inyoung, CEO of December & Company; Lee Geunju, Director of Korea Simple Payment Promotion Agency.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kiho Sung] The election for the new chairman of the Korea Fintech Industry Association, which leads 344 fintech companies, has been confirmed as a three-way race. As the fintech industry grows rapidly, the status of the chairman has also risen, making the competition fierce.

According to the financial sector on the 8th, three candidates applied for the chairman position of the Fintech Industry Association, which closed yesterday: Lee Hye-min, CEO of Finda; Jung In-young, CEO of December & Company; and Lee Geun-joo, head of the Korea Easy Payment Promotion Agency. Once the candidates are officially announced on the 19th of this month, the official election campaign period will begin. From the 20th to the 26th, the voter list will be finalized, and mobile voting registration procedures will take place, with the final selection at the regular general meeting and executive election on the 17th of next month.

The first chairman was Lee Seung-gun, CEO of Viva Republica; the second was Kim Dae-yoon, CEO of PeopleFund; and the third was Ryu Young-joon, CEO of Kakao Pay. In the early days of the association, the first and second chairmen were elected as sole candidates, but the third chairman election was contested by Ryu and Shin Seung-hyun, CEO of Daily Financial Group, with a vote among all member companies. This time, with the association’s status rapidly rising recently, three candidates have registered, and a fierce election battle is expected.

CEO Lee Hye-min operates Finda, a loan brokerage platform. Founded in 2015, Finda launched its app in 2019, providing loan management services. Lee Hye-min also expressed her intention to run in the third chairman election but was excluded due to internal regulations allowing only executives of member companies to run for chairman.

CEO Jung In-young founded December & Company Asset Management in 2013 and launched the AI discretionary investment service PINT in 2019. PINT has established itself as a simple investment service, achieving 100 billion KRW in AUM (Assets Under Management) by the end of last year.

Director Lee Geun-joo operates the Korea Easy Payment Promotion Agency, known for 'Zero Pay.' Lee is a fintech expert with extensive experience in payment and fintech fields, having served as head of smart finance and fintech center at IBK Industrial Bank and as the Zero Pay task force leader.

Since the candidates represent loan brokerage, simple investment, and easy payment respectively, the future direction of the Korea Fintech Industry Association is expected to be determined by who assumes the chairman position.

The Korea Fintech Industry Association is a private organization that promotes the fintech industry, facilitates external cooperation, proposes policies, conducts research, operates permanent fintech committees, and supports member companies.

Recently, with the rapid development of the fintech industry, the association’s role as a communication channel regarding regulations has been strengthened. In particular, the government and political circles recognize the chairman of the Fintech Industry Association as a representative figure of the fintech industry and engage in discussions on major issues together. This is an advantage for the company producing the chairman.

Financial authorities also invite the chairman of the Fintech Industry Association to major policy discussions to listen to the industry's voice. The political sector frequently pursues official and unofficial meetings with the chairman to gather opinions for legislative activities, indicating that the chairman’s communication role will become even more important.

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