KB Kookmin Bank sees a growing role for banks in digital assets, with executives highlighting reserve management and anti-money laundering controls as foundations for trust at a conference co-hosted with Kakao Group on Monday.
Next Finance Korea 2026, held at The Westin Seoul Parnas as part of East Point: Seoul 2026, brought together about 150 financial and digital asset industry representatives to discuss market development and the role of financial institutions.
In a keynote address, Seo Ki-won, executive vice president and head of KB Kookmin Bank’s management planning group, said technological change would not alter banking’s core responsibility to safeguard customer confidence.
“The essence of finance, in which customers can entrust their assets with confidence, remains unchanged even as technology advances,” Seo said. “We will extend the trust we have built into the digital sector and work with partners to build new financial infrastructure connecting the issuance and distribution of digital value.”
Lee Sang-ryul, head of the bank’s digital transformation division, told a panel that digital assets could generate new demand for financial services, with banks providing safeguards to support the market.
“Banks will serve as a key trust layer through functions such as reserve-asset management and anti-money laundering,” Lee said.
jyoungseon8@heraldcorp.com