Seo earned a doctorate in business administration from the University of Seoul and began her career as a researcher at the Korea Development Institute, or KDI. For more than 20 years, she has analyzed financing for small and midsize enterprises and the broader business environment, offering policy recommendations to government and the financial sector. Last year, she also worked as an expert member of the current administration’s state affairs planning committee, gaining firsthand policy experience. She is now deeply involved in setting policy direction and mid- to long-term strategy at IBK, a policy lender specializing in SMEs.
Her top research focus recently has been the sweeping changes artificial intelligence is bringing to finance. With global economic uncertainty persisting and AI-driven industrial restructuring accelerating, she said the moment could be a major turning point for both the South Korean economy and its SMEs.
Seo said AI should be viewed not merely as a workplace tool but as a foundation for expanding finance’s role. She argued AI can create new industries while also being integrated into manufacturing, reshaping it. Korea’s shipbuilding, auto and steel sectors, she said, should not decline in the face of AI but instead build new competitiveness by adopting it — a shift she sees as essential to sustaining the country’s potential growth rate.
She expects finance to expand toward supporting corporate decision-making as AI adoption spreads. Using AI-based evaluation systems, lenders could more precisely assess growth potential and risks based on sales trends and productivity data, then design and supply tailored financial products. More customized consulting that reflects a company’s specific situation would also become possible.
Seo said the success of the AI transition will hinge on data. “We are focusing on building a system that selects useful information from the vast amount of continuously generated data and links it organically,” she said. She added that “beyond simple adoption, developing business models that can generate profitability is essential,” underscoring IBK’s deliberations over its artificial intelligence transformation, or AX, roadmap.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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