Major financial holding companies are speeding up governance restructuring through board decisions ahead of March annual shareholder meetings. The move follows financial regulators laying out improvement measures such as introducing special resolutions at shareholder meetings for chair reappointments, strengthening outside director independence and expertise, and adopting a single three-year term. Regulators also called for pre-emptive adoption even before related legal revisions.

A key measure is shifting the method of appointing a chief executive from a board resolution to a shareholder resolution. Another is tightening the voting requirement for a third consecutive term as CEO to a special resolution rather than an ordinary resolution. Some financial holding companies are seeking to institutionalise the changes by reflecting them in their articles of incorporation. They are also moving to recruit outside directors with expertise in areas such as consumer protection and digital transformation (AX).

• KB Financial recommends attorney Jeong-ho Seo (서정호) as a candidate for new outside director • Woori Financial reshuffles outside directors and recruits consumer protection and AX experts • BNK Financial steps up governance advancement talks and reflects regulator task force results in its articles of incorporation

As the stock market keeps a strong trend, including the KOSPI breaking above 6,000, internal control issues in the securities industry have resurfaced. Allegations have been raised that some current and former employees at securities firms violated the Capital Markets Act and were involved in stock price manipulation, expanding supervisory risks.

Search-and-seizure operations and criminal complaints targeting a specific securities firm have continued, highlighting the need to review internal control systems across the industry. Investor protection and securing market trust have emerged as key tasks during the bull market phase.

• Securities industry internal control risks rekindle amid the bull market • Daishin Securities says a former employee is suspected of violating the Capital Markets Act, adding it is cooperating with a criminal complaint and investigation • Prosecutors raid Daishin Securities over alleged involvement by a department head in Kosdaq stock manipulation

In the fintech industry, competition is spreading in services that automate and act on behalf of customers exercising the right to request lower loan interest rates. After the Financial Services Commission in December designated the "MyData-based interest rate cut request service" as an innovative financial service, services began in earnest from Feb. 26.

Platform companies are now enhancing related functions. Some platforms introduced automatic application features after analysing the possibility of a rate cut. Early responses have also continued, including cases where pre-registrations reach hundreds of thousands. Services supporting financial consumers in exercising their rights are emerging as a new axis of platform competition.

• Toss tops 400,000 pre-registrations for its "automatic interest rate cut application" • Naver Pay opens its "loan interest rate care" service • Finda launches a service that acts on behalf of customers to request an interest rate cut

In the financial sector, organisational restructuring has continued through executive reappointments and key personnel changes. At internet-only banks, the reappointment of K Bank CEO Woo-hyung Choi (최우형) has effectively been confirmed. Mirae Asset Securities, a major brokerage, appointed its first female head of research centre, among other personnel changes.

• K Bank CEO Choi wins reappointment as the nomination committee votes unanimously • Mirae Asset Securities appoints its first female head of research centre and reshuffles WM and investment strategy leadership

Other major moves in the finance and fintech industries were also compiled.

KB Kookmin Bank launched customised services tailored to age groups. It opened a brain health guardian service for senior customers and also introduced a dedicated membership for people in their 20s. KB Securities decided on a large-scale paid-in capital increase. The decision aims to improve the quality of its profit structure and secure a foundation for future growth, centred on the conversion and expansion strategy direction of KB Financial Group and its affiliates.

• KB Kookmin Bank opens "KB Brain Health Guardian" service for senior customers • KB Kookmin Bank launches "KB Youth Club" membership for customers in their 20s • KB Securities decides on a 700 billion won paid-in capital increase to expand its equity capital base

Shinhan Financial Group held a launch ceremony for "Shinhan Financial Hub Jeonbuk Innovation City" at Shinhan Fund Partners' Jeonju NPS headquarters in Jeonju, North Jeolla province, to build a financial ecosystem specialised in asset management. It plans to launch a financial hub innovation city in North Jeolla and concentrate and operate key functions related to capital markets and asset management in the province.

Shinhan Bank launched a high-interest savings product linked to a health platform. Shinhan Asset Management participated in a science and technology-focused fund that aims to raise about 1 trillion won led purely by private capital without direct government investment, in order to focus investment on 12 national strategic technology fields and companies engaged in technology commercialisation.

• Shinhan Financial steps up efforts to build a financial hub with the launch of "Shinhan Financial Hub Jeonbuk Innovation City" • Shinhan Bank launches "Shinhan Sneakers Savings" offering a top annual interest rate of 7.5 percent • Shinhan Asset Management holds a closing ceremony for the 763.2 billion won "Science and Technology Innovation Fund No. 1"

Hana Financial Group completed a proof of concept for a foreign remittance service using blockchain technology jointly with Dunamu. The approach replaces remittance messages previously sent via the SWIFT method between Hana Bank's domestic and overseas branches with blockchain messages on Dunamu's blockchain network, the "GIWA Chain". Based on the results, it plans to push ahead with building a foreign remittance infrastructure using deposit tokens by the third quarter of this year.

• Hana Financial completes proof of concept for blockchain-based foreign remittances with Dunamu • Dunamu completes verification of an overseas remittance service with Hana Financial using the GIWA Chain

Woori Financial Group also plans to build financial infrastructure in Jeonbuk Special Self-Governing Province, centred on key affiliates such as asset management, banking and insurance, in line with the government's "5 poles, 3 special" balanced development policy. Woori Bank will speed up AX transformation by developing its own generative AI. Woori Investment & Securities led fundraising through an acquisition project for "Nuribaram", an offshore wind installation vessel specialising in installation, as its first venture capital financing lead case.

• Woori Financial says it will help build Jeonbuk as a financial hub by deploying group infrastructure • Woori Bank develops its own generative AI "Deep Research" to speed up AX transformation • Woori Investment & Securities leads 50.2 billion won in financing for offshore wind infrastructure to step up productive finance

Toss Bank launched a K-Pass debit card. K-Pass sign-up and linkage procedures can be handled within the Toss app, and customers of other companies can also change their registration. It is also running an event that pays rewards to sole proprietors who open an account for the first time.

• Toss Bank launches "K-Pass debit card" offering additional cashback • Toss Bank runs an account-opening event for sole proprietors

B2B payments platform company Stripe is reviewing the acquisition of online payments service PayPal, CNBC reported on Feb. 24 local time, citing Bloomberg News. Stripe is considering acquiring all of PayPal or parts of its business, the report said.

• Stripe reviews PayPal acquisition, shaking up the fintech market