Hecto Group has completed its AI talent discovery programme by holding the finals of the recruitment-linked AI competition, the “HAI! Hecto AI Challenge”.

The HAI! Hecto AI Challenge is an AI competition set up by Hecto Group to identify talent with AI technology competitiveness and link them to recruitment. The event was held together with data science platform DACON.

The competition was planned to develop technology to detect deepfake content, which has emerged as a social issue alongside the spread of generative AI, and to find next-generation AI talent to lead such work. It offered 26 million won in total prize money, including a 10 million won grand prize.

Hecto Group is strengthening digital competitiveness by applying AI technology to various services based on its fintech, data and platform businesses. Centered on its AI research organization, the HAI division, it is pushing projects including data analysis, AI model development and automation technology. It is continuing to expand development of AI technology applied to actual services.

The preliminary competition ran online for about 7 weeks from Dec. 15, 2025, to Feb. 2, 2026. Participants competed under the theme of “deepfake detection AI model development”. They demonstrated technology to quickly and accurately determine whether videos and images contain deepfakes, using advanced AI modeling and creative approaches to data.

The top 10 teams that passed the online preliminaries proved the performance and originality of their AI models at an offline contest held on the 11th. The grand prize went to a joint team from Kookmin University and Kwangwoon University, which received 10 million won. The team presented a model that effectively balanced implementation capability and processing speed, and earned high marks for overall completeness including its approach strategy, technology choices, experiment design and logical development. Second place went to a joint team from Ewha Womans University and Sogang University, while third place went to a Hanyang University student competing alone, demonstrating capability as next-generation AI experts.

Hecto Group will provide practical hiring benefits to winners of the competition. Top prize-winning teams will receive exemptions from the document screening and first interview stages when applying to join Hecto Group, and all of the top 30 teams will be registered in Hecto Group’s hiring talent pool and given priority consideration for future recruitment in AI research and development and data-related roles.

Hecto Group said it is also providing various education programmes and systematic competency development opportunities so that new members can deepen their expertise and continue to grow.

Kim Jeong-geun (김정근), an executive director at Hecto Group’s HAI division, said Hecto Group has continuously operated talent discovery programmes to strengthen AI technology competitiveness, and that securing outstanding talent is becoming more important as AI technology spreads across industries. He said the HAI competition was a meaningful event that went beyond a simple contest of technical skills, allowing the company to meet core AI talent that helps protect social trust. He added that the group will expand opportunities for capable talent to take on challenges and grow, strengthen Hecto’s technological competitiveness and take the lead in building a healthy AI ecosystem.