At a promotional booth in the Conrad Seoul hotel in Yeouido, Yeongdeungpo District, a demonstration of the artificial intelligence currency exchange platform Qunit was in full swing on the 26th. Operated by Currency United, a four-year-old startup, Qunit lets users buy and sell foreign currencies at prices of their choosing, much like trading stocks. Hwang Jin, chief business officer at Currency United, showed a mobile phone screen and said a dollar purchase made that morning had generated a 0.1% return. “It is good to be able to introduce the service to many people and build trust by meeting them in person,” the CBO said.
Seoul Fintech Week 2026, organized by the Seoul Metropolitan Government to support the growth and commercialization of fintech companies, runs from the 26th to the 28th at the Conrad hotel and the surrounding International Finance Center (IFC) area. Because regulation and verification procedures make commercialization a high hurdle in the financial industry, the city has held events since 2006 to provide opportunities for business-to-business exchanges and commercialization. This year’s edition, under the theme “AX-Driven Digital Finance Transformation: Finance That Knows Me,” features expert panel discussions, company showcases, an investment demo day and recruitment interviews.
At the Finnovation Challenge awards ceremony held on the opening day, three companies were recognized for applying innovative technology in financial settings. Klleon, which won the Seoul mayor’s award, develops conversational digital human solutions based on generative AI and is expanding into the United States, Japan and the Middle East. “I hope this award raises the company’s credibility and serves as a springboard for expanding our business,” said Jin Seung-hyuk, chief executive of Klleon.
The venue housed 25 promotional booths featuring 24 fintech and AI startups along with Yeongdeungpo District. Among those presenting their technology and business models were Gold & Company, operator of the gold investment platform Geum Goldy; Custodify, which has developed AI infrastructure for foreign exchange pricing and risk assessment; and Seoul Labs, which showcased a blockchain-based alternative credit scoring service.
At the expert panel, participants called for broader support to bring fintech innovations into financial practice and to the market. “Support is needed that connects financial firms and technology companies from testing through adoption and wider deployment,” said Kim Muk-han, senior research fellow at the Seoul Institute. Lee Sung-bok, senior research fellow at the Korea Capital Market Institute, proposed that authorities “help fintech companies verify the reliability of their AI technology and secure specialized talent.”
The Seoul Metropolitan Government plans to strengthen its fintech development policies. Through the Seoul Fintech Lab, the city supports technology testing, investment attraction and overseas expansion. In the latest 40th Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI), Seoul ranked seventh worldwide in both overall financial competitiveness and fintech. “We will expand cooperation among financial institutions, companies and investors to become a global financial hub,” said Kim Hyun-woo, head of the city’s economic affairs office.
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