South Korea\'s financial sector has entered the first-quarter earnings season, with non-interest income and non-bank units driving diverging results among major financial holding companies. KB Financial Group, Shinhan Financial Group and Hana Financial Group posted record results, while Woori Financial Group recorded a decline. Strong stock markets lifted securities firms\' earnings, and new savings and investment products were launched. The industry is also accelerating a shift toward AI and digital finance, alongside calls for stronger controls and risk management.

B2B fintech firm Webcash is moving to secure solutions for the emerging era of AI agent banking, which it sees as a core axis of next-generation financial competition. At a conference in Seoul, it unveiled the architecture and use cases of OPERIA, an engine that connects general-purpose AI with banks’ relational databases. Webcash said internal tests showed 99 percent accuracy in its cash management solution and introduced a V2 cash management agent expanding coverage to about 800 customers.