Toss founder Lee Seung-gun—onetime dentist, now Korea’s fintech maven—talks superapps, ‘rubbish ideas’, and IPO plans ‘in the near future’ 

Lee Seung-Gun- or “SG” for uncommon foreigners with Korean pronunciation-has a classic founder of starting to start with perseverance, frequent failure, final success … and dental care.

It started in 2011, when I left a private hospital for Samsung to start VIVA Republica. “She started as a dentist, like all other Asian children whose parents want their children to be neurosurgeons or dentists,” says laughing.

“When I was 29 or 30, I had no dream. I just wanted to be a famous dentist,” he remembered. But he soon grown troubled with the help of people on an individual scale. “To create a widespread effect, I quickly realized that I had to focus on technology.”

He had to pay him to entrepreneurship a difficult start. He has dedicated 150 million yates of savings – about $ 105,000 – chasing his new project. “During the first five years, I failed eight times,” he says. It restores a few what he calls “garbage ideas”: social media, voting application.

The 2018 Bloomberg report indicated that, one point, I had only 20,000 Won ($ 14) in the bank, and was pleading with employee families to allow them to continue working without pay.

Then he found an idea that succeeded: the money transfer service. He says with a smile. “And here we are.”

Nearly 15 years after its founding in 2011, This is now part of the “SUPER App The Great App”, one platform that combines banking services, insurance, stock trading and money transfer.

South Koreans have a medium average of five bank accounts and four credit cards – which means many different financial accounts that exist. It is believed that this is the reason that Turf has proven very common, as the Koreans have “more occasions to check their money.”

VIVA Republica is now one of the most prominent startups in Korea, at a value of about $ 7 billion after a 2022 financing round. I also became one of the latest billionaires in South Korea, according to estimates in 2021 Forbes.

The Toss platform claims that it has approximately 30 million registered users, which will be equal to about 60 % of the South Korean population. More than half of the 25 million monthly active users per month visit the application at least 10 times a day.

Our active monthly user base is actually a little shy of Instagram [in Korea]”Boasts.

The success of the super application

Asia is covered in high -end applications, as it includes platforms such as Tencent’s WeChat services such as messaging, payments, food delivery, news, games and more. Finance represents a popular service for emerging ultra -emerging dishes, even for funding companies, with the seizure of Singapore and the sea, and Goto in Indonesia between Asian platforms with technology divisions.

Super applications keep users on one platform, instead of sending them to another company. This allows mutual promotion, resource participation, and other support between different services. It also makes it difficult to switch to another platform: If everything you need is at all on one application, then why do something else try?

However, the superior applications in the West were not launched, even when the model wins fans such as the owner of X Elon Musk, which hopes to convert the social media network into a platform for financial services.

Lee’s theory is that super -Asian internet applications are suitable, which initially lacked a lot of digital infrastructure that supports startups.

In the United States, a new startup can rely on a large number of other companies that provide supporting services. In Asia – even in rich countries like South Korea – there are no companies. This means that a platform like Troass, or its peers in the major technology is the most firmly established on Naver and Kakao, was to build these same services.

“When we launched the main money transfer service, it was loved by many users, so we were able to grow very quickly. We quickly realized that all other financial sectors of financing were not covered by other players.” “There was a big vacuum in the Korea market, so we managed to reap these opportunities.”

Startup features

VIVA Republica achieved a prominent sign last year, when it reported its first annual profit since its foundation more than a decade. The company announced a net profit of 21.3 billion Korean (15 million dollars) compared to 2024, compared to a loss of 216.6 billion options (152 million dollars) in the previous year. Revenue also jumped 43 % to 1.96 trillion Won ($ 1.4 billion).

He tells me that the first profit ever is due to the focus on increasing revenues instead of building a market share. “Unlike other Fintech players, the user’s growth is not really associated with revenues. Most of our revenues do not come from users, but instead of our business customers”, they were attracted to Toss of-F-Sale, or its advertising opportunities.

“During the three years to the next five, you will often be a story about getting more business customers,” he says.

VIVA Republica also came from a strong growth in Troass Securities, the platform trading service. Lee notes that it is the only service that imposes fees on users, and contributes about 20 % of the total platform revenues.

He added that the securities, after their launch in 2021, grew rapidly due to SuperApp Toss.

“It took two years from Robenol to get two million securities,” tells me. “We have achieved it within five days.”

Thess connects a higher penetration between the younger Koreans, with up to 90 % of those in their twenties using the platform. Li tells that although there are not many differences between younger users and the elderly, the main difference is that the most recent generations are more open to investing in foreign stocks, primarily in the United States.

Now that VIVA Republica has found a profitable business model, is the company on a way for the first time in general, which is the next big teacher to start operating?

Li tells that Viva Republica plans to public relations “in the near future”, but he refused to provide specific details about the timing and site.

According to local media, VIVA Republica is studying the American public public offering, giving up plans to include them in South Korea late last year. According to the company, the company believes that the Korean stock markets will not properly appreciate the high -tech platform such as Erm. (He refused to share the details when clicking on it.)

Fintech Services has lost Kakaobank and Kakaopay about 70 % and 80 % of its value since the subscription is 2021.

Market confidence

Korean stocks often suffer from low assessments – as they are called “Korea’s opponent”. Analysts blame the threat of North Korea nearby and poor corporate governance between the country ChaebolsThe huge blocs that dominate the economy. The country looked at passing the market reforms that would open the value, similar to what was successfully followed by its neighbor, Japan.

However, reforms were stopped due to a more urgent political crisis.

In December, President Yoon Sok Yol tried to impose martial law. After widespread protests from the audience and the opposition, Yoon pulled his advertisement only a few hours after.

The legislators were suspended and soon they settled Yoon, which increased months of political instability. Things have now begun at the end of it after the country’s constitutional court supported the removal of Yoon, which led to his official removal from his post – the second time that the president has been removed in less than a decade. Korea will hold the sudden presidential elections in early June.

However, it is believed that the crisis shows South Korea’s strengths. “I earn more confidence in the market,” he says. “Everything was done through the constitution, and the process was peaceful.”

“This is the turning point where we really need to focus on economic growth, not only from businessmen, but also politicians,” he continues.

South Korea is wrestling with disappointment among young people, frustrating from high levels of debt, unbearable housing, and limited social mobility. This is partly why many have turned into a retail trading in stocks, or even more expensive assets such as cryptocurrencies.

East Asia, the main source, is negotiating franticly with the United States to alleviate the customs tariff imposed by President Donald Trump, including 25 % of a car tariff and 26 % “mutual tariff”.

When asked if uncertainty on a broader scale affects confidence between individual Koreans, he indicates to me growth in TRRS’s advertising business last year as evidence that the country’s economy is still strong.

It remains a rise in South Korea as an attractive market for anyone who wants to enter Fintech.

“Despite its limited population, the Korean market is enormous,” says Li.

The interview was conducted in cooperation with Fortune Korea.

This story was originally shown on Fortune.com

2025-04-23 04:30:00