2 weeks Ago By [email protected](KoreaTimes)
Lee Su-young, who heads the Global Business Team at KakaoBank, poses after receiving a presidential commendation during the Finance Day celebration organized by the Financial Services Commission at the FKI Tower in Yeouido, Seoul, Tuesday. Courtesy of KakaoBank By Jun Ji-hye Lee Su-young, also known as David Lee, head of the Global Business Team at KakaoBank, has successfully led the first overseas entry of a domestic internet bank through strategic partnerships with local companies. In recognition of his efforts to design an optimized strategy for the bank’s initial steps into global markets, Lee was awarded a presidential commendation in the innovative finance sector on Tuesday, during the Finance Day celebration organized by the Financial Services Commission.
“I believe KakaoBank’s strategy of establishing equity investments and strategic partnerships with local companies, rather than pursuing mergers and acquisitions with local banks as traditional commercial banks do, has been a key factor,” Lee told The Korea Times. “This approach is the most optimized strategy for our initial foray into global markets, as it minimizes the risks associated with entering overseas markets and provides opportunities to experience local customers and markets through collaboration with companies that have an established customer base.” Last year, KakaoBank established a strategic partnership with Southeast Asia’s super app, Grab, to collaborate on business operations in Southeast Asia.
Through this partnership, the bank made an equity investment of approximately 100 billion won ($72.5 million) into Indonesian digital bank Superbank, marking the first overseas venture and investment by a Korean internet bank. A consortium led by Grab and Singapore Telecommunications holds the largest share in Superbank.
The Korean bank said Superbank successfully secured 1 million customers just two months after its launch, establishing a strong foothold in the market. “Currently, we are collaborating with Superbank based on business cooperation to provide advisory services on products and services, as well as to launch new services,” Lee said. “This collaboration allows us to experience the local market and customers in Indonesia, helping us build local knowledge and insights.
” He noted that his firm is now preparing for a digital banking license expected from the Thai government next year, collaborating with SCBX—the holding company of Thailand’s leading bank, Siam Commercial Bank (SCB) — and Webank, a Chinese bank known for its world-class IT technology. Once the digital bank is established in Thailand, he said, it is expected to include approximately 35 million medium- to low-credit customers in the Thai market. “If we obtain the license, it would represent the first entry of a domestic bank into the Thai financial market since the Asian financial crisis in 1997, making it of great national significance,” he said.
“Starting with the Southeast Asian market, we plan to leverage KakaoBank’s top-notch digital financial technology and platform capabilities, which have been validated in the domestic market, to expand our business foundation globally.”.
