[MyData's Long Road Ahead] "Differentiated Services Will Emerge in 2-3 Years" - Kim Jonghyun, CEO of Cocun

Companies' 'Data Shopping Malls'
Many Domestic MyData Services Comparable to Overseas Will Emerge
Kukon and Fintech Win-Win...Creating a Virtuous Cycle Ecosystem

▲Kim Jong-hyun, CEO of Cocoon

[Asia Economy Reporter Sim Nayoung] Kukon is a 'data shopping mall' for companies. Well-known financial companies such as Toss, KakaoPay, Finda, BankSalad, Hyundai Card, and BC Card are representative clients of Kukon. The data handled by Kukon includes personal information such as income data (provided by the National Health Insurance Service, National Pension Service, and National Tax Service), bank accounts (provided by all domestic banks), and insurance (provided by the Credit Information Center), as well as corporate information including automobile purchase subsidies, domestic corporate card information, and standard market price information.

Kukon standardizes the way these data pieces are exchanged like Lego blocks and sells them as 'standard Application Programming Interface (API)' products. Thanks to this standardized information exchange method, any company can quickly and easily obtain the information they need. Kukon handles over 50,000 types of data, and there are about 250 API products that classify and collect this data. Although not widely known to the general public, all companies that are somewhat involved in the data business are Kukon's clients.

Enhancing MyData Quality through Inter-Company Data Exchange at Kukon

On the 18th, at Kukon's headquarters in Yeongdeungpo, Seoul, Kim Jonghyun, CEO of Kukon, told Asia Economy, "We provide data to about 1,800 companies, and through us, data services of fintech and financial companies are being activated." He added, "As data utilization increases, our clients grow, and we also grow by receiving API introduction fees and data usage commissions, forming a win-win relationship."

CEO Kim predicted that in 2 to 3 years, many differentiated services comparable to overseas ones will emerge in the domestic MyData industry. He said, "MyData companies like Mint in the U.S. have been providing services for nearly 10 years, while Korea has only started MyData for 5 months and has only opened financial data so far." He added, "Soon, differentiated services such as MyData services combining finance and healthcare will appear." He estimated that about 1,000 domestic companies, including fintech firms, financial institutions, and large corporations, are potential MyData business operators.

Through Kukon, information from various financial companies complements each other, raising the level of MyData services. For example, Kukon purchases data from Card Company A, which has detailed classifications of card merchant stores, and sells this data to Card Company B. Card Company B can then understand customers' spending details more precisely based on Card Company A's classification. CEO Kim explained, "If Card Company B previously only showed that money was spent at clothing stores, by utilizing Card Company A's merchant spending details, they can know whether the customer went to a clothing store, shoe store, or accessory store." He said, "More detailed MyData services will become possible."

High Demand for MyData from Small Business Owners and Healthcare Sector

Recently, small business owners have also shown interest in MyData. This is an opportunity for MyData to expand into business-to-business (B2B) services. CEO Kim said, "There is tremendous demand for MyData from small business owners." He explained, "Many apps are emerging that analyze and provide information such as how many 'likes' our restaurant received on delivery apps, what comments were posted, and how effective advertising on delivery apps was."

There are also many inquiries from businesses aiming to enter the healthcare MyData sector. Kukon currently provides personal data such as health checkups, medical treatments, and medication records. This information is obtained from the National Pension Service, National Health Insurance Service, and Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service. CEO Kim said, "Healthcare companies are rapidly increasing, and their main revenue model is health functional foods." He explained, "Before government-led medical MyData services are launched, these companies are competing to preoccupy the market by utilizing Kukon's data."

Kukon is a first-generation data company in Korea. It opened in 2006, before the concept of data utilization was properly established. At that time, its affiliate WebCash was providing an accounting program service called 'Gyeongrinara,' and companies wanted to view their bank accounts all at once. Therefore, Kukon was established as a data-specialized company and began directly contacting banks to receive data. CEO Kim said, "Looking back, we had turning points every five years." During the first five years, they focused solely on connecting data from financial institutions such as banks, securities, insurance, and card companies without thinking about making money. Over 90 financial institution data sets were serviced to corporate clients via Kukon's dedicated lines. He said, "That was when we laid the business foundation." From 2010 to 2015, they expanded overseas during the era when internet banking was spreading widely.

Companies with overseas branches wanted to manage not only domestic bank accounts but also overseas bank accounts all at once. Kukon established overseas subsidiaries in China, Japan, Cambodia, and other countries, opened bank accounts there, and collected overseas bank data using screen scraping methods. Over five years, data from about 2,000 banks in 40 countries flowed into Kukon's servers. CEO Kim said, "From 2016, we created a data API store to seriously start business." He added, "Government agencies even benchmarked Kukon's site when creating their data portal sites."

Going forward, Kukon's goal is to establish itself as a MyData intermediary institution. CEO Kim explained, "Without data intermediary institutions like Kukon, fintech companies and even large corporations would have to obtain data directly and connect with each company individually, which is very difficult." He added, "Companies that need to utilize data are partnering with Kukon for data services, opening the way to conduct MyData business."

The case of the loan comparison app 'Finda' is a representative example. CEO Kim recalled, "A few years ago, before starting the service, Finda's co-CEO Lee Hyemin came to Kukon saying they needed various data." He said, "At that time, Finda was a startup with limited funds." Instead of charging API introduction fees, Kukon took equity in Finda and did not charge commissions for two years until Finda grew. Based on Kukon's data, Finda launched services such as debt refinancing, becoming a successful fintech company. CEO Kim said, "Recently, we have been supporting healthcare startups with data." He added, "We will create a win-win model between startups and Kukon."