According to latest reports, the Korean government plans to provide its full support to venture capital to finance fintech start-ups, as digital innovation will play a pivotal role in the fourth industrial revolution, the country’s top financial regulator said recently, Korea Herald reported.
Speaking at the Korea Capital Market Conference 2016 in Seoul, Yim Jong-yong, Financial Services Commission chairman said that the government will help foster a giant investment bank to invest in venture capitals.
“With the advent of fintech and ICT-based firms, once-exclusive financial services are evolving into new types of services”, he said. "As capital markets have large potential in innovation and change, the government will make sure that start-ups with creative ideas get enough venture capital”.
Korea Capital Market Conference 2016 is the second annual event organized by major financial institutions including Korea Exchange, Korea Financial Investment Association, Korea Securities Depository and Korea Securities Finance Corp. Experts discussed capital markets and the fourth industrial revolution at the event.
In a book, World Economic Forum’s founder Klaus Schwab said that the confluence of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, robotics, the internet of things, autonomous vehicles, 3D printing, the blockchain, biotechnology and others amounts to the fourth industrial revolution of the book’s title.
Korea is slowly warming up to the blockchain revolution. Last month, Korea Exchange announced that it was moving to investigate the potential of blockchain technology and revealed plans to develop an over-the-counter trading platform using the technology.
Earlier this year, in a report, Dong sup Kim, of Bank of Korea’s Payment Systems Research Team recommended the central bank to monitor developments going on in the blockchain space and undertake research into the technology.
