South Korea

디지털·AI 대전환에 금융권, IT인재 '용광로'로

ET News | Local Language | News | Jan. 13, 2026 | UndeterminedTech Development/Adoption

The financial sector is increasingly recruiting external IT talent from diverse industries such as manufacturing, gaming, platform, and e-commerce to enhance digital and AI capabilities. The traditional practice of hiring only from within the financial industry is rapidly fading as companies seek specialized expertise to drive digital transformation (DX) and AI transformation (AX).

Shinhan Financial Group recently appointed Shin Young-pil, with experience at Coupang Pay, Samsung Electronics, and NCSoft, to lead its Tech Innovation Unit, focusing on cloud and next-generation IT strategies. The unit was newly established in late 2024. Similarly, Woori Financial Group has brought in external experts, including Choi Yong-min from Mirae Asset Global Investments as head of its AI Strategy Center and Jeong Ui-cheol from Samsung Electronics to lead its Digital Sales Group, emphasizing leadership renewal for digital channel innovation and AI strategy.

KB Kookmin Card launched an AI Center in late 2025, appointing Lee Cheong-jae, who has a background in Samsung Electronics, SK Telecom, Hyundai Motor, and 42dot, as its first director. KB Securities also recruited Park Jae-man from Samsung Electronics to head its AI Digital Division, accelerating AI-based service development and digital competitiveness.

Hyundai Marine & Fire Insurance and Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance have appointed external digital specialists Heo Myung-ju (formerly of Kakao) and Shin Yong-nyeo (formerly Microsoft CTO) to lead IT strategy. This trend of bringing in outside digital experts for core positions is spreading broadly across the financial sector, driven by the recognition that internal personnel rotations are inadequate for the speed and expertise needed in DX and AX.

The financial industry expects this trend to intensify as AI-based sales, risk management, and customer service advance. IT is now viewed as a central axis of business competitiveness, with growing demand for talent skilled in service planning, data utilization, and cloud architecture, marking the financial sector’s transformation into an ‘IT talent melting pot.’

디지털자산거래소 대주주 지분 제한 '논란'

ZD Net Korea | Local Language | News | Jan. 13, 2026 | Regulation

Regulators are considering imposing limits of around 15–20% on the stakes major shareholders can hold in domestic digital asset exchanges like Upbit and Bithumb. This proposal arises from the view that as these exchanges grow and resemble public infrastructure, restricting shareholder control may be necessary, similar to stock market exchanges. However, there is significant concern within and outside the industry that such regulation could extend beyond digital assets, potentially affecting other emerging sectors.

The Financial Services Commission has reportedly included this stake-limit measure in the upcoming “Digital Asset Phase 2 legislative bill” and has shared it with the ruling party's digital asset task force. Officials are looking at parallels with existing limits on alternative trading systems like NextTrade, which caps voting shares at 15%. If enacted, most major domestic digital asset exchanges could be forced to overhaul shareholder structures and governance models significantly, not just sell shares.

The proposal has drawn strong backlash due to its retrospective regulatory nature. Industry voices argue that imposing after-the-fact share dispersion on private companies conflicts with constitutional property rights and long-standing market stability principles. Unlike preemptive regulations applied to alternative trading systems at establishment, this would forcibly alter existing governance structures. There is also a lack of global precedent for such ownership limits in the volatile digital asset sector, and insufficient social consensus about the importance or concentration of exchanges to justify it.

Industry participants warn that changing ownership structures would slow management speed and weaken accountability, undermining competitiveness in a fast-evolving global market. They emphasize that founder-led strong leadership drives strategic decisions and innovation in nascent industries. Citing global exchanges like Coinbase, where founders maintain major stakes, the industry contends that retroactive governance changes could stifle entrepreneurial motivation and prompt firms to leave the domestic market.

Critics of the stake limits note the digital asset industry’s evolving nature, with platforms expanding beyond trade brokerage into custody, staking, and independent blockchain ecosystems, competing globally. Imposing ownership caps may hinder technological innovation, structural reorganizations, and international collaborations needed to keep pace with global competitors. Users can easily migrate to overseas platforms if domestic exchanges lose competitiveness due to these regulations.

The industry also highlights structural differences from securities markets, arguing that share-dispersion rules applied to stock exchanges to prevent conflicts of interest do not directly translate to digital asset exchanges where trade execution is consolidated. Examples include the NYSE and Nasdaq, which lack artificial share-ownership limits seen in banks. Domestic financial ownership rules are cited as potentially more stringent, with banks facing rigorous limits versus more permissive stakes in internet-only banks.

While the digital asset sector supports stronger market management and supervision targeting unfair trading and internal controls, direct intervention in ownership raises fundamentally different issues. Industry figures warn that institutionalizing governance changes based on company growth could set a precedent affecting other fast-growing industries like platforms, AI, and mobility, amplifying the controversy.

Korea Herald | English | News | Jan. 13, 2026 | Privacy

Ju Byung-gi, chairman of South Korea's Fair Trade Commission (FTC), indicated that a temporary suspension of Coupang Corp.'s business operations could be possible amid an ongoing investigation into a large-scale data breach at the US-listed e-commerce giant. He stated that if the company fails to comply with orders or if relief for affected consumers is inadequate, the FTC might consider suspending Coupang's business operations.

Coupang disclosed on December 25 that a former employee stole personal information from 33.7 million user accounts, though the company claimed that only about 3,000 accounts' data were saved and later deleted. However, the science ministry criticized Coupang’s findings as one-sided and incomplete, highlighting that a joint public-private investigation had not yet concluded.

In addition to examining the data breach, the FTC is reviewing other concerns regarding Coupang’s business practices. The commission plans to soon release the results of its inquiry into allegations that Coupang shifted losses from low-priced sales onto its partner suppliers.