Strategic collaboration brings global verification and fraud prevention expertise to Korean market as deepfake attacks surge 137% while overall fraud declines.
Sumsub has partnered with iMind Inc., a technology-driven company specializing in AI-based data processing and analysis, to strengthen compliance and fraud prevention capabilities in South Korea’s payments sector as local businesses face increasingly sophisticated fraud threats. The partnership also marks Sumsub’s first APAC Partner Roadshow in South Korea, bringing together payments and compliance stakeholders to share proven best practices in onboarding and ongoing monitoring against deepfakes and other AI-driven attacks, as well as strategies for enhanced public-private collaboration in the payments space.
The collaboration comes as South Korea faces surging fraud sophistication and strengthens anti-money laundering (AML) oversight. Over 7,000 accounts across nine major banks were linked to fraud in Q1 2026—double the prior year, according to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). South Korea recorded a 137% year-on-year increase in deepfakes in 2025, ranking 11th for the largest growth in the Asia-Pacific region, per Sumsub's Identity Fraud Report 2025-2026. Despite mature infrastructure driving a 22% decline in overall fraud, sophisticated fraudsters increasingly target payment systems through advanced AI-powered attacks. In response, the Korea Financial Intelligence Unit's 2026 AML/CFT agenda has broadened account freeze powers and extended compliance requirements across payment providers.
"As South Korea strengthens its AML framework and fraud grows more sophisticated, payment companies face a dual challenge: meeting regulatory compliance while defending against AI-driven attacks," said Penny Chai, Vice President, APAC at Sumsub. "Today's fraudsters use deepfakes and synthetic identities to bypass onboarding, then exploit verified accounts—making continuous monitoring essential, not optional. By joining hands with iMind, we're combining local regulatory expertise with full-cycle verification capabilities to help payment companies align with South Korea's AML/CFT agenda and defend against threats throughout the customer journey."
"As South Korea's payments sector continues to innovate and expand regionally, compliance and anti-fraud infrastructure must evolve in parallel," said Jay Cho, Director and Chief Executive Officer at iMind Inc. "Our partnership with Sumsub combines our deep understanding of the local regulatory environment with their innovative AI-powered verification platform, enabling Korean financial institutions to build resilient, future-ready compliance frameworks that protect against increasingly sophisticated threats while strengthening digital trust across the payment ecosystem."
Bringing these insights to practitioners and industry leaders, Sumsub’s Seoul APAC Roadshow featured two key sessions. The afternoon workshop equipped AML, KYC, and fraud prevention practitioners with an operational deep-dive into strengthening onboarding, implementing continuous monitoring, and detecting AI-driven deepfakes. The Evening Leaders Exchange convened executives, regulators, and academics to examine how the Financial Services Commission and industry are collaborating on fraud prevention and real-time settlement under updated Electronic Financial Transactions Act (EFTA) rules.
"South Korea's approach to balancing innovation with regulatory oversight provides valuable lessons for the region," said Dr. Seng-Phil Hong, Professor with Hanshin University. "The collaboration among regulators, technology providers, and financial institutions in real-time fraud detection and prevention exemplifies how public-private partnerships can forge more resilient payment ecosystems — not only within Korea, but on a global scale. Ultimately, this underscores a growing imperative: that establishing trust and credibility is becoming an increasingly critical driver of sustainable global competitiveness."
The Seoul event marks Sumsub's first APAC Partner Roadshow in South Korea, part of a broader regional series that has spanned Hong Kong, Shenzhen, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Indonesia. These roadshows serve as knowledge-exchange platforms where compliance practitioners, fraud prevention teams, and industry leaders share insights on emerging threats and regulatory developments. As AI-driven fraud techniques evolve and cross-border payment systems grow more interconnected, these collaborative forums help financial institutions across the region adapt their compliance infrastructure to address shared challenges in an increasingly complex fraud and regulatory landscape.
For more insights on combating AI-driven fraud in Asia-Pacific and beyond, download Sumsub's Identity Fraud Report 2025-2026 here.
About iMind Inc.
Established in 2021, iMind Inc. is a technology-driven company specializing in AI-based data processing and analysis. The company has successfully launched financial cloud infrastructure for fintech companies such as PayGate, Hanpass, Nizpay, Baropass.
