[Financial IT Forum] Kim Cheol-woong, President of the Financial Security Institute, "In the Era of Big Data and AI, Security Becomes More Important"

Kim Cheol-ung, President of the Financial Security Institute, is delivering a welcome speech at the "13th Asia Economy Financial IT Forum" held on the 24th at Lotte Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Changhwan Lee] "As the utilization of big data and AI (artificial intelligence) in the financial industry increases, the importance of information security is also expected to rise."

Kim Cheol-woong, President of the Financial Security Institute, stated at the 13th Asia Economy Financial IT Forum held on the 24th at Lotte Hotel Seoul in Jung-gu, Seoul, that "Big data and AI are the core driving forces currently leading the forefront of financial innovation."

He explained, "The data industry market size, which was only about 8 trillion won in 2010, increased to approximately 20 trillion won in 2020, and the data sales industry has reached 1.7 trillion won," adding, "In the future, the data market will create significant added value as cases of combining and utilizing heterogeneous data such as medical and public data expand."

He also analyzed that the importance of AI is growing alongside big data. President Kim said, "In the financial sector, AI is being applied to all areas of work as a new paradigm of finance," and explained, "Now, AI bankers operate branches instead of humans, AI algorithms prevent customer churn, and AI technology is being introduced in credit evaluation and loan screening, replacing financial personnel."

He added, "AI is enhancing the benefits of financial decision-making by providing customers with finely customized hyper-personalized services based on vast financial activity data."

President Kim predicted that as the utilization of big data and AI increases, the importance of information security will also rise. He emphasized that in the use of big data, more attention must be paid to 'information security' than in the past.

He stated, "With the allowance of combining heterogeneous data in the big data field, the increase in data utilization is expected to amplify the ripple effects of data leakage," and argued, "The leakage of sensitive data such as personal credit information, medical, and public data can directly affect the daily lives of the public."

Furthermore, he pointed out that AI must be re-examined from the 'consumer trust perspective.' He said, "Since AlphaGo, AI has been focused on from a technical perspective, but now it is time to focus on it from the perspective of consumer protection," adding, "The decision-making process through AI must comply with customer protection principles stipulated in the Financial Consumer Protection Act, such as the duty of explanation, suitability, and appropriateness."

He continued, "Due to the nature of AI algorithms determined by learning data, it is also important to use reliable data and prevent infringement and manipulation of data," and stated, "To enhance the fairness of AI algorithms and minimize bias, security must be guaranteed and data diversity secured."