[People人] Rising as the 'Leader' in Korea's Fintech Market with 'Consumer-Centered' Innovation DNA

Lee Seung-geon, CEO of Viva Republica
Toss Reaches 17 Million Cumulative Users
Operates 4 Subsidiaries Including Securities Firms
All-In on 'Toss Bank' Launching Next Year

Lee Seung-geon, CEO of Viva Republica

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Min-young] A startup founder who graduated from Seoul National University College of Dentistry, the head of the only unicorn (a startup valued at over 1 trillion KRW) fintech company in Korea, and the leader of the 500-member Toss team, ‘Seunggeon-nim’. These are the titles attached to Lee Seung-geon (38), CEO of Viva Republica, who launched the mobile financial service Toss in 2015 and gathered 17 million subscribers in just over four years.

Toss is a service that CEO Lee launched after eight business failures. It was created by thoroughly improving the inconveniences of finance from the consumer’s perspective. When the young CEO, born in 1982, visited financial companies, everyone looked at him with skepticism. The responses he received when explaining Toss were only “Why do you want to do this?” and “You can’t do it because of financial regulatory restrictions.”

After two years of persuasion, CEO Lee succeeded in bringing several financial companies onto Toss. Now, the situation has completely reversed. Financial companies are eager to join Toss. Banks, card companies, insurance firms, and others line up to collaborate with Toss.

This is the power of ‘consumer-centricity.’ As of the end of last month, Toss has reached 45 million cumulative downloads and 17 million cumulative subscribers. With 10 million monthly active users, 34 million cumulative registered accounts, and 17 million cumulative registered cards, it is no exaggeration to say that no other fintech or financial institution has demonstrated this level of success.

CEO Lee’s life journey is unique. When his father’s business faced difficulties during high school, he decided to become a dentist, a profession that could earn a lot of money. After graduating from dental school and working as a public health dentist, he immersed himself in Western philosophy studies. Fortunately, his father’s business improved, so he quit being a doctor and embarked on a ‘path of hardship.’ Since founding his startup in August 2013, he launched social networking services (SNS), selfie applications, and petition sites similar to the current Blue House National Petition, but all failed.

In his frustration, he suddenly focused on the inconvenience of financial services represented by public certification. The services he had launched before were things he wanted to do, but Toss was different in that it was a service consumers longed for.

So far, he has launched over 120 services, but only about 40 remain today. Services such as easy remittance, integrated account inquiry, free credit score checks, customized loan recommendations, integrated card inquiry, insurance inquiry, easy currency exchange, and mini insurance are now offered by many providers. However, without Toss’s innovation, these services might not have appeared in the world yet. A Toss official said, “Our goal is a world where all financial life is connected through Toss alone.” Perhaps this statement not sounding hollow is the real fear of Toss.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Toss operates four subsidiaries including an internet bank, securities firm, insurance agency, and payment gateway (PG). Last August, it raised 77 billion KRW in investment, recognizing a corporate value of 2.7 trillion KRW. In April, it achieved its first monthly profit. It is now transforming into a money-making company.

Despite Toss’s success, some in the financial sector view it unfavorably. The perception that “the Financial Services Commission loves Toss” is widespread throughout the financial industry. Especially in the banking sector, there was considerable discomfort with Toss preparing to launch an internet bank. Rumors openly circulated that Toss and a certain major commercial bank split after a leadership battle over the Toss Bank consortium. Despite such checks, Toss boldly formed a dream team with Hana Bank, SC First Bank, and E-Land, and successfully obtained the preliminary approval for an internet bank. A representative of a Toss Bank shareholder company said, “After talking with CEO Lee, he seemed like a person born with innovative DNA,” and evaluated, “He will lead changes in the financial sector based on his success experience and passion.”

Recently, a power struggle has been unfolding between existing financial companies and big tech firms. KakaoBank, which marked its third anniversary, is aggressively entering the high-credit loan market once monopolized by banks. Naver launched Naver Financial as a subsidiary and introduced the Naver Account, expanding into postpaid payments and insurance. Meanwhile, Toss remains relatively quiet, focusing its efforts on the Toss Bank preparatory corporation aiming for launch next year. Banking is a completely different business from before. The initial capital alone is 250 billion KRW, and at least another 1 trillion KRW in investment is required. CEO Lee and Toss have a special determination regarding the weight of money. CEO Lee said, “To compete with KakaoBank, we need more investment,” and added, “We will design a sophisticated credit evaluation system and launch mid-interest loans for young adults and small business owners.” The day when Toss once again becomes the ‘number one target of financial sector checks’ is not far away.

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