[AI Revolution](136) Face Recognition in 0.04 Seconds... "8 Times Faster Than the World's Top Companies"

Interview with Lee Ji-hoon, CEO of Mesacure Company
Facial Recognition 'UFACE', Independently Developed Based on Deep Learning Technology

"We believe that facial recognition technology can bring innovation across various fields, from enhancing security to building efficient systems, beyond mere convenience. Through this, we aim to create a safer and smarter world."

This is the company vision revealed by Lee Ji-hoon, CEO of Mesacure Company, in a recent interview with Asia Economy.

Mesacure Company is a specialized Vision AI company centered on facial recognition technology. Vision AI implements human visual perception through technology, and the company is developing various video analysis and identity verification technologies beyond facial recognition.

Mesacure Company’s flagship service is ‘UFACE.’ As a facial recognition solution, it extracts 512 feature points from a person’s face, enabling accurate and rapid identity verification. It was developed in-house based on advanced deep learning technology and has continuously improved its performance through ongoing research and development.

Mesacure Company demonstrated its technological prowess by achieving a 0% error rate in all categories during performance tests conducted by the Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA) and the Korea Laboratory Accreditation Scheme (KOLAS), evaluating variables that could affect facial recognition such as lighting, pose, expression, and accessories.

The recognition speed is also fast. CEO Lee emphasized, "Even facial recognition companies rated as top-level globally take an average of 0.3 seconds to identify one person out of one million. However, Mesacure Company’s facial recognition technology accomplishes this in just 0.04 seconds." He explained that theoretically, this is eight times faster, and in real environments, about three times faster processing speed.

UFACE is widely used as a non-face-to-face authentication solution (e-KYC). It compares information obtained from ID card photos with real-time facial data and is applied to various services such as non-face-to-face account opening and mobile login.

In 2020, Mesacure Company succeeded in commercializing the first facial recognition login for mobile banking in the primary financial sector in Korea through Hana Bank’s ‘Hana One Q’ app. Since then, it has partnered with major financial institutions such as Shinhan Bank and KB Kookmin Card, establishing itself as the company with the largest reference base in the domestic financial sector. CEO Lee stated, "More than 6 million users have experienced Mesacure Company’s technology," adding, "This is an important indicator of our technological capability and reliability."

The company is also achieving results in the global market. Recently, it supplied facial recognition technology to Vietnam’s Nonghyup Bank’s mobile banking, marking a full-scale entry into the Southeast Asian market. The State Bank of Vietnam mandated facial recognition for financial transactions exceeding 10 million VND (approximately 550,000 KRW) starting in July to strengthen financial security. CEO Lee said, "There is growing demand for facial recognition technology that ensures high security and safety within Vietnam," and added, "We are expanding technology supply not only to Korean banks operating locally but also to Vietnamese local banks."

The company also succeeded in raising 8 billion KRW in Series A funding. Leading domestic investment institutions such as Hana Bank and Kiwoom Investment participated, showing confidence in the company’s technological capabilities and growth potential.

Mesacure Company is exploring expansion into healthcare, smart cities, and safety management by developing technology that estimates health data such as heart rate through cameras, beyond facial recognition technology. This technology is expected to play an important role in checking workers’ health and preventing major accidents in high-risk work environments such as large-scale logistics sites and construction sites.

CEO Lee stated, "We are developing technology that detects physical signals such as blood flow changes to estimate health status," and added, "We plan to utilize this in smart city solutions like remote medical care and smart mirrors, enabling easy health checks on everyday devices or linking with remote medical services for convenient health management."