The Korean Federation of Community Credit Cooperatives, the nation's leading mutual financial institution, held an international forum in collaboration with the United Nations to discuss ways to boost digital financial inclusion in Jeju last week.

The event drew ministers from 15 UN member states, financial experts from Japan and Italy, and representatives from global tech giants such as Google and GSMA.

The forum tackled two primary topics: expanding financial access and fostering sustainable local development.

Pier Luigi Sacco, an OECD advisor, started off the first session with a keynote speech on “Financial Cooperatives, Community Development and Financial Inclusion,” followed by presentations on successful initiatives from Korea, Japan and Italy.

Seoul National University international studies professor Jeong Hyuk presented KFCC’s strategies to combat regional depopulation, a challenge that extends beyond Korea to many countries worldwide.

Hideaki Ono, a director of Japan Shinkin Central Bank, and Giovanni Betti, an adviser from Italy's Federcasse, also shared their insights based on their respective countries' cooperative banks’ contributions to regional development.

The conversation then shifted to digital solutions for financial inclusion. Kim Tae-hyung, the chief of the ICT and development section at UNESCAP emphasized collaboration between international organizations and grassroots efforts, calling it “crucial for effective digital financial inclusion.”

Google highlighted its collaboration with KFCC in supporting digital financial services, while GSMA examined how technologies -- such as mobile services, payment platforms and frontier technologies like the Internet of Things, AI and blockchain -- can enhance climate finance in vulnerable communities.

KFCC Chair Kim In expressed hope that the forum would serve as a catalyst for cooperation, promoting digital financial inclusion and local development.

“I hope this forum will lay the foundation for continued networking and future exchanges among the participating countries and participants,” Kim said.