FTC designates Toss as new publicly disclosed business group; Kiwoom and DB also climb in rankings
Toss has joined South Korea’s list of large corporate groups for the first time, riding a prolonged stock market rally that lifted assets across the financial sector.
The Fair Trade Commission designated Toss operator Viva Republica as a publicly disclosed business group on Wednesday. The label applies to conglomerates with combined assets above 5 trillion won ($3.38 billion). The designation takes effect May 1.
Toss was one of 11 newly added groups. Daou Kiwoom Securities moved up to a stricter cross-shareholding restricted category, rising two spots to 47th. DB climbed three places to 37th and Daeshin jumped seven spots to 69th. Both have large securities units.
“Last year’s semiconductor and securities boom pushed up assets, leading to a significant rise in newly designated groups,” the FTC said.
Toss’s entry stands out among traditional financial heavyweights. Lee Seung-gun, a former dentist, founded the company in 2013. He launched a free money transfer app in 2015. The company has since grown into a full financial platform, spanning banking, brokerage, insurance and payments. It has also moved into offline businesses, including mobile telecoms and payment terminals.
Analysts see the expansion as a data play, not just a growth strategy.
Toss posted record consolidated revenue of 2.7 trillion won ($1.82 billion) last year, up 38 percent from a year earlier.
Toss Securities drove the results. Its operating profit jumped 203 percent to 452.1 billion won in 2025. That topped both Hana Securities at 166.5 billion won and Daeshin Securities at 301.4 billion won. Net profit was 340.1 billion won, ranking ninth among domestic brokerages.
The numbers look even more impressive against its size. Toss Securities held total assets of 7.2 trillion won. That is less than one-tenth of the 84 trillion won average among the top 10 brokerages. Its return on equity topped 70 percent. Most major peers sit around 10 percent.
Toss Securities has aggressively grown its mobile trading platform. It is popular among investors in their teens, 20s and 30s. Cumulative account holders hit 8.6 million in February, up more than 30 percent from 6.6 million at end-2024.
Toss Bank also had a strong year. Net profit more than doubled to 96.8 billion won, from 45.7 billion won in 2024. Net interest margin edged up two basis points to 2.55 percent.
Toss is working toward a Nasdaq listing. In January, a share swap with China’s Ant Group put its valuation at 20.5 trillion won.
ch0221@heraldcorp.com
