Fintech meets AI: Korea Fintech Week 2024 to kick off Aug. 27

Visitors explore booths set up for Korea Fintech Week 2023 at Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Seoul, Aug. 30, 2023. Yonhap

Korea Fintech Week 2024 will kick off on Aug. 27 for a three-day run at Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) in Seoul, bringing together participants from the country’s leading fintech firms, financial companies and universities as well as overseas governments and institution.

The Financial Services Commission (FSC), Korea’s top financial regulator, announced Thursday that this year’s event will take place under the theme, “Beyond Boundaries: FinTech and AI Redefining Finance,” to offer an opportunity to share global trends in AI and fintech and explore the future of the financial ecosystem.

During the opening ceremony, the FSC chief as well as Gintare Skaiste, finance minister of Lithuania, and Wilson L. White, vice president on Google’s government affairs & public policy team, will give speeches, conveying various messages, including the growth of the global fintech industry and the future development of fintech using AI.

Later that day, various FSC policies related to digital finance and the fintech sector will be introduced.

During the three-day event, 11 seminars will be held, gathering fintech experts from both domestic and international arenas to engage in in-depth discussions. Specifically, seven of these seminars will focus on AI-related topics, covering the current applications of AI in the financial sector and exploring future potential advancements AI could bring to finance.

The event will also feature a Reverse IR session, where investors will deliver presentations instead of companies. During these sessions, investors will outline their investment strategies and priorities to enterprises, providing valuable insights that can help fintech firms better comprehend the factors influencing investment decisions. According to the FSC, this approach could facilitate the expansion of future investment opportunities.

A total of 85 booths will be installed in four exhibition halls categorized as fintech, finance, cooperation and globalization.

At the fintech hall, leading domestic fintech businesses will showcase innovative services and technologies across a variety of areas, including asset management, financial product recommendations and brokerage, simplified payments and remittances and fraud prevention.

The finance hall will feature the country’s five major financial groups — KB, NH, Shinhan, Woori, and Hana — as well as other financial institutions, including DGB Financial Group, Industrial Bank of Korea, KakaoBank and Samsung Card.

At the cooperation hall, the local governments of Seoul and North Jeolla Province will promote startups in their respective regions. Relevant institutions, such as the Korea Financial Telecommunications & Clearings Institute and Koscom, universities and law firms, will also take part, serving as collaborative platforms for fintech companies.

The globalization hall will promote overseas expansion and exchanges between domestic fintech firms. The U.S. Embassy in Korea, Fintech Association of Japan and Hong Kong Trade Development Council, among others, will participate to introduce their respective fintech industries and provide investment and business consultation services.