Korea Fintech Industry Association (KORFIN)

About

The Korea Fintech Industry Association (KORFIN) is a non-profit industry body for Korean fintech companies. It launched in April 2016 with 107 member companies and passed 500 members by the end of 2023. Members range from big tech and fintech firms such as Naver Financial, Kakao Pay and Viva Republica (Toss) to smaller start-ups.

Kim Jong-hyun, chief executive of data and payments firm Coocon and a former head of the Webcash research institute, was elected KORFIN's sixth chair on 25 February 2026 with 70.09% of the member vote. His term runs to February 2028. He has said current rules do not reflect how the industry works and has called for a shift towards permitting activities by default and restricting only problem areas.

KORFIN set up a Stablecoin Council in February 2025, the first private-sector body in Korea dedicated to stablecoins, with 47 member firms and DSRV chief executive Kim Ji-yoon as its first chair. Its stated aims include engaging the National Assembly and financial authorities, introducing cross-border stablecoin payments and drafting standards for stablecoin issuance and use. Since then KORFIN has organised National Assembly seminars on institutional participation in digital asset markets and on digital asset ETFs, feeding industry views into the debate on the Digital Asset Basic Act and related bills.