Yujin Investment & Securities Joins Korea SOHO Bank Consortium

## Eugene Investment & Securities Joins Korea SOHO Bank Consortium… Kicking Off Customized Financial Innovation for Small Business Owners Eugene Investment & Securities has officially joined the 'Korea SOHO Bank' consortium, led by Korea Credit Data (KCD), shaking up the landscape of the competition to establish new internet-only banks in Korea. According to KCD's announcement on the 11th, Eugene Investment & Securities' submission of a letter of intent to invest is a decision that provides strong support for the KCD consortium's vision of a bank specializing in small business owners. With this participation, Korea SOHO Bank is expected to offer comprehensive services to small business owners, including customized financial products as well as systematic asset management services. Eugene Investment & Securities' joining is significant as it has made the Korea SOHO Bank consortium the most powerful 'financial institution alliance' among the various camps pursuing new internet-only banks. Following Woori Bank's early declaration of participation in May last year and Woori Card's in July, Eugene Investment & Securities has now also joined, bringing together a total of three financial institutions. This marks the largest number of financial institutions participating in a consortium aiming to establish a new internet-only bank, with IT-Sen also joining as a non-financial company, demonstrating a diverse aggregation of capabilities. This highlights the consortium's strong commitment to providing truly essential financial services to small business owners. Korea Credit Data (KCD), the core of the consortium, is already a veteran operating at the forefront of financial services for small business owners in South Korea. Starting with 'Cashnote', a management service favored by 1.7 million small business owners nationwide, the group has built an overwhelming infrastructure, providing services to a total of 2.3 million businesses through its community companies, including Korea Payment Networks (an online/offline payment specialist), Im-U (a POS/kiosk specialist), Korea Evaluation Information (the nation's only full-time personal business credit rating agency), and Korea Business Owner Experience (a small business-focused customer experience provider). Cashnote is evolving into a 'super app' that encompasses all aspects of small business operations, including business management, financial services, product purchasing, and community, beyond a simple ledger and sales management app, thereby expanding its influence. The KCD consortium's unique competitive edge stems from its sophisticated credit evaluation capabilities for small business owners. Korea Evaluation Information (KEI), established by KCD, has already proven its capabilities by providing credit evaluation models to numerous financial institutions based on the operating information of individual business owners. Notably, this year it achieved the feat of attracting new investment from Hana Bank, and including existing shareholders such as KB Kookmin Bank, iM Bank, IBK Industrial Bank, JB Jeonbuk Bank, and KakaoBank, it has secured investment from a remarkable six banks, firmly establishing the excellence of its small business owner credit evaluation model in the market. This is evaluated as accurately addressing the difficulties traditional financial institutions faced in evaluating small business owners and presenting an innovative alternative. Kim Dong-ho, CEO of KCD, expressed his anticipation regarding Eugene Investment & Securities' participation, stating, "Business owners in South Korea will find customized investment products needed throughout their entire journey, from starting a business to retirement." He articulated a strong vision: "We will not merely create a fourth internet bank without differentiation, but rather 'the first bank' for small business owners in South Korea." KCD is expected to lead small business-centric financial innovation through collaboration with more companies, satisfying the unmet needs of small business owners by traditional financial institutions and building a new financial ecosystem.