Shinhan Financial Group (055550.KS) is aggressively recruiting specialists to secure a leading position in the digital asset market and accelerate its artificial intelligence transformation (AX). Market observers attribute the push to Chairman Jin Ok-dong's strong interest in AX, stablecoins and on-chain finance.
Shinhan Bank has established an "AX·Web3 Academy" under its AX Innovation Group and plans to begin operations in the second quarter of this year, according to financial industry sources on Wednesday.
To staff the academy, Shinhan Bank has been hiring experts across related fields since the beginning of the year. Choi Cheol, former head of SK's AIX Convergence Group, and Jeong Jae-wook, former head of Hana Bank's Digital New Business Division and senior vice president of AI and digital strategy at Hana Financial Group, have joined as full-time Web3 professors. AX professorships have been filled by Choi Kwang-shin, former executive vice president of financial strategy at Danal and a former senior researcher at the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), and Kim Hee-sun, a former data scientist at LG CNS and KB Kookmin Bank. The faculty will consist of five members in total, with additional hiring under way.
The new professors will participate in actual projects alongside employee training at Shinhan Bank. Rather than lecture-based instruction, the program combines project-based learning (PBL) and workflow learning so that employees can directly apply AI and Web3 technologies to real business problems. Shinhan Bank has set a target of developing 1,000 core experts within the year and converting general staff into "AI-native" workers capable of utilizing AI.
Shinhan Bank's external hiring in digital assets and AI has accelerated recently. Earlier this year, the bank recruited the chairman of the Open Blockchain & DID Association (OBDIA), a blockchain consortium whose members include commercial banks, the Korea Financial Telecommunications & Clearings Institute and IT companies. Last year, it appointed Shin Young-pil, a former Samsung Electronics executive, as head of its Tech Innovation Unit. "We will expand our recruitment to academics and industry experts to build an open talent ecosystem," a Shinhan Bank official said.
Shinhan Financial believes internalizing talent and technology is essential to gaining leadership in AI and digital assets. The group aims to build a system in which internal staff can design and operate digital asset and AI businesses rather than relying on external organizations. Chairman Jin has intensified efforts to accelerate AX and digital transformation (DX) and to secure leadership in the digital asset ecosystem as he enters his second term. In line with this, Shinhan Bank President Jeong Sang-hyuk is also pursuing bold talent internalization and technology internalization projects.
Alongside talent acquisition, the group is ramping up a digital strategy centered on AX and digital assets. Shinhan Financial Group and Jeju Bank on Wednesday unveiled "DJ Bank," a digital corporate banking brand developed in partnership with Douzone Bizon, and introduced a corporate finance model based on enterprise resource planning (ERP) data. The core concept is "ERP banking," which connects a company's ERP system with financial services to handle everything from account opening to funding in a single workflow.
The group plans to develop the platform into one that offers "autonomous finance" by integrating data, AI and stablecoins. Chairman Jin, who attended the event, said, "ERP banking is an attempt to go beyond the limits of traditional corporate finance by connecting companies' actual operations with financial services. I expect this to serve as the starting point for a new corporate finance model and an opportunity for regional banks to leap beyond their limitations."
Financial industry observers describe Shinhan Financial's moves as building a virtuous cycle linking talent acquisition, technology internalization and business application. The focus is on transforming the organization's DNA rather than simply making investments. "The success of AI and digital asset businesses will depend on how well firms build their own technology and human resources," an industry official said.