Hana Financial nurtures 171 finance talents through youth program

The Hana Youth Finance Talent Development Project, launched in 2022, has produced a cumulative total of 171 finance and AI professionals through this year, according to figures released Friday. The program is regarded as one of Hana Financial Group's flagship ESG initiatives, offering young people hands-on experience and digital skills to strengthen their competitiveness in the financial sector job market.

Hana Financial Group announced Thursday at a final project showcase held at Hana Bank's headquarters in Jung-gu, Seoul, that the program had reached that milestone. The project is organized by Hana Financial in partnership with the Financial Supervisory Service, Google, Amazon Web Services, Microsoft and SK Telecom.

This year, 54 university students — selected through an idea competition in April and organized into 13 teams — took part in four months of training and mentoring. Participants completed a curriculum covering finance and ESG education, financial consumer protection, and mentoring by industry professionals, as well as hands-on courses in financial data analysis, AI chatbots, generative AI, large language models and machine learning.

The program also paired each participating team one-on-one with Hana Financial employees to jointly develop solutions applicable to real business operations over roughly three months. Teams joined a hackathon alongside participants from SK Telecom's AI talent development program, SKT FLY AI, to propose ideas for addressing social problems through AI.

At the showcase, Team Uni-Hana took the grand prize for its proposal of a corporate ESG regulation compliance and risk review platform, receiving a certificate and prize money of 10 million won ($6,810). A total of 30 million won was awarded across seven teams, including two runners-up and four merit prizes.

The top three teams will receive an overseas training opportunity to visit fintech companies, startup incubators and global financial institutions in London. All program graduates will also receive preferential consideration when applying for positions at Hana Financial Group.

"We hope the talent nurtured through this project will grow into key figures leading future financial innovation," a Hana Financial Group official said. "We will continue to expand a range of talent development programs so that young people can build their capabilities regardless of their circumstances."

Meanwhile, Hana Financial continues to run social contribution activities aimed at creating youth employment and revitalizing local economies, including the Hana Social Venture University, the Hana Power On Innovative Company Internship and a small business district revitalization project for young entrepreneurs.