First-generation Korean fintech founder returns to helm of Bizplay

30 of top 100 firms already on board; target is 50 by next year

'AI is a matter of survival, not growth'

AI transformation to drive growth ahead of 2029 IPO

Seok Chang-gyu, CEO of Bizplay and chairman of Webcash Group, speaks during an interview at the company's headquarters in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, on Tuesday. [Bizplay]
Seok Chang-gyu, CEO of Bizplay and chairman of Webcash Group, speaks during an interview at the company's headquarters in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, on Tuesday. [Bizplay]

"Our goal for next year is to sign half of Korea's top 100 companies as customers. Once we establish a decisive competitive edge in the large-enterprise market, our business will naturally expand to their affiliates and related companies."

Seok Chang-gyu, CEO of Bizplay and chairman of Webcash Group, expressed confidence in the company's push into the corporate expense and travel management market during a recent interview. One of Korea's first-generation fintech founders, Seok returned to the front line of management as Bizplay's CEO in June and has been working to secure new growth drivers.

The core of his strategy is concentrating resources on the large-enterprise market. Bizplay has already signed 30 of Korea's top 100 companies by market capitalization as customers — including seven of the top 10 and 17 of the top 50. The goal is to bring that number to 50 of the top 100 by next year.

Bizplay started as a service for managing corporate card spending and expense reporting, and has since expanded into travel, welfare, meal allowances and general affairs. Its core competitive strength lies in connecting the various systems companies use and automating complex expense-processing workflows.

Seok's guiding principle for growth is building an overwhelming competitive advantage in a specific market — a strategy he calls the "awl approach."

"Every time the business got tough, I went back and looked hard at our customers and our market," he said. "Rather than trying to attack a broad market all at once, you have to drill deep into a specific area, like an awl."

"Expanding your business indiscriminately makes it harder to compete," he added. "We have always focused on areas where we can be competitive by constantly cutting, stripping away and changing."

That same approach is being applied to Bizplay's push into the large-enterprise segment. Landing a major conglomerate's headquarters as a customer opens the door to supplying services to its affiliates and overseas subsidiaries.

"If we deliver a truly solid service to the largest companies, we can expand not just to their domestic affiliates but also to their overseas operations," Seok said. "We are looking for opportunities in global markets by supporting Korean companies' international business travel and expense management."

In practice, Bizplay has already shifted its overseas expansion strategy. Rather than directly entering local markets in Japan, Vietnam and Cambodia as it once did, the company now focuses on supplying services through the overseas offices of its domestic corporate customers.

Back at the helm for the AI era

Seok founded Webcash in 1999, making him one of Korea's first-generation fintech entrepreneurs. Having worked in bank IT operations, he saw the potential of the internet banking era and struck out on his own.

"Watching the financial network connect to the internet at the time, I felt a new market was about to open up," he recalled.

After founding the company, he expanded into corporate internet banking, virtual accounts and cash management — but the path was not always smooth. Early on, he believed strong technology alone was enough to succeed, but he ran into repeated setbacks while taking on systems integration projects.

Those experiences shaped Webcash Group's business model, which has since focused on specialized fields such as corporate finance and cash management.

Seok now sees the spread of AI as a new inflection point — the third major shift he has encountered since founding the company. "The situation today feels similar enough to when the internet emerged in 1999 that it feels like a third founding," he said. "The AI transition is no longer a choice companies make for growth — it is a matter of survival."

Webcash Group is pursuing two tracks simultaneously: using AI to boost workplace productivity and developing AI-based services. The organization is being restructured so that AI handles development work while people focus on design, quality control and customer consulting, moving away from a model where developers wrote all the code themselves.

"If skilled coders were the key in the past, competitive advantage now goes to people who deeply understand the work and know how to use AI properly," Seok said. "Developers also need to shift their roles — toward product specialists or consultants."

The group is also differentiating its AI initiatives by subsidiary. Webcash is focused on developing AI agents that handle financial tasks such as internet banking, while Coocon is building a framework for supplying financial data that AI systems can use. Bizplay's role is to integrate AI into corporate expense and travel management systems.

Bizplay targets 2029 listing

Seok expects Bizplay to enter a period of full-scale growth from next year as AI transformation raises operational efficiency and enables new services.

His blueprint calls for an initial public offering in 2029, underpinned by revenue growth over the next two years.

"Since introducing AI, I have started looking not just at revenue growth but also at our cost structure," he said. "I believe we can enter a genuine growth phase from next year."

His decision to step back into direct management was itself driven by these changes. Seok believes the industrial disruption brought by AI is even greater than what accompanied the arrival of the internet.

"I may not be able to build a company bigger than Samsung, but I believe I can build a good one," he said. "What matters is creating a sustainable business model while offering employees salaries, welfare and a working environment they can be satisfied with."

Seok Chang-gyu — career highlights: born in Busan in 1962; graduated from Pusan National University with a degree in computer science and statistics in 1988; worked at Kookmin Bank, Dongnam Bank, Housing Bank and Busan Bank from 1988 to 1998; served as CEO of Webcash from 1999 to 2016; became chairman of Webcash Group in 2017; served as vice chairman of the Kosdaq Association in 2022; appointed CEO of Bizplay and chairman of Webcash Group in 2026.


boo@heraldcorp.com