Hancom Innostream Establishes Local Joint Venture in Japan

[Financial News] Hancom Innostream is moving to target Japan’s financial and public-sector identity verification market.
Hancom Innostream announced on the 5th that Raumsoft, its domestic public-sector distributor, had signed a joint investment agreement with Japanese listed company Cyberlinks and established a local joint venture in Japan. The joint venture is based in Wakayama City, Wakayama Prefecture, where Cyberlinks’ East Japan branch is located.
Hancom, the parent company of Hancom Innostream, had previously granted Raumsoft a license for its artificial intelligence (AI) facial recognition solution, HancomOS. The joint venture will use the solution as the basis for software distribution in Japan. As a result, Hancom Group’s Japan business now has a two-track structure built on direct supply and a local joint venture. Hancom will expand its B2B business by supplying HancomOS directly to Japanese companies. Hancom Innostream will use the joint venture as a distribution channel to access the financial and public sectors.
Hancom Innostream has built a track record in South Korea’s public sector. It has supplied electronic document solutions to numerous government and public institutions, including the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the Cultural Heritage Administration, Korea Electric Power Engineering, Korea Aerospace Industries and the Korea Customs Service. The company plans to draw on this experience to target Japan’s financial and public-sector markets.
Cyberlinks is a listed company whose major customers include local governments and financial institutions in Japan. The joint venture will use Cyberlinks’ local network as its sales base, helping shorten the time needed to build distribution channels when entering new markets.
The partnership was formed in response to regulatory changes in Japan. In April 2027, Japan will implement revisions to the enforcement regulations of the Act on Prevention of Transfer of Criminal Proceeds. Changes to the methods financial institutions use for remote identity verification are expected to generate demand for replacement authentication solutions.
Hancom and Hancom Innostream have been responding early to regulatory changes in Japan. In February, Hancom signed an agreement with Cyberlinks to supply HancomOS and completed integration of Cyberlinks’ Public Personal Authentication (JPKI) with HancomOS (HancomAUTH). The company says it secured a local distribution channel in advance, before demand gathers momentum with next year’s regulatory overhaul.
With this integration, HancomOS’s facial authentication technology has expanded beyond existing online identity verification (eKYC) to cover multiple service areas. Hancom and Hancom Innostream plan to continue expanding its applications through compliance services that address regulatory changes in Japan.
Partnerships in Japan are also expanding. On August 27, Hancom signed a memorandum of business alliance with World Business Center (WBC), a comprehensive ICT services company in Japan. WBC has a customer base that includes at least 50 educational institutions and at least 40 medical institutions in Japan. Hancom plans to leverage WBC’s business network to supply facial authentication solutions and an integrated SSL/TLS server certificate management solution.
Kim Yeon-su, CEO of Hancom Innostream, said, “With the establishment of this joint venture, we have built a Japan business structure based on two pillars: direct supply and a local joint venture. Hancom and Hancom Innostream will actively expand their business in Japan’s security and authentication markets, leveraging our competitive facial authentication technology.”

 

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