Hanwha General Insurance's '10 Percent' wins Grand Prize; 1,380 teams compete in the Financial Security Institute's Financial AI Challenge

[Financial News] The 2026 Financial AI Challenge, organized by the Financial Security Institute and sponsored by the Financial Services Commission, drew a record 1,380 teams (2,102 participants). With competition at around 200 to 1, entrants competed by developing and testing functioning web services themselves rather than stopping at proposing ideas.
According to the Financial Security Institute on the 10th, the Grand Prize (Financial Services Commission Chairman's Award, KRW 20 million) in the contest, which offered total prize money of KRW 35 million, went to 'Mock Counter,' a service developed by '10 Percent (percent),' a one-person team from Hanwha General Insurance Co., Ltd. The service uses 500 AI-generated virtual customers to read financial product disclosure documents before a product launches and identify clauses that financial consumers might misunderstand. The virtual customers also included older investors and consumers with no investment experience beyond savings and time deposits, groups that are difficult to recruit as samples for real-world surveys.
When tested on actual product disclosure documents, the service identified numerous cases that could lead to financial consumers' losses and was praised for contributing to consumer protection and inclusive finance. For example, it identified a case in which a customer from a vulnerable group misunderstood the redemption criteria for an equity-linked securities (ELS) product and mistakenly thought they would get their money back even if they failed to meet the early-redemption conditions.
First Prize (Financial Security Institute President's Award, KRW 5 million) went to DarkAudit, developed by the Sogeumppang team, which consists of two university graduates. The service turns the 15 types in the Financial Services Commission's dark-pattern guidelines into inspection rules. Before a product launches, AI goes through the entire sign-up process from start to finish as an actual user to detect dark patterns. It also flags problem areas, suggests improvements, and supports rechecking, making it highly practical for real-world use.
Five teams were selected for Excellence Awards. Phishing Break, developed by the two-member Ulsan University team Gamjamaengdu (Hana Bank President's Award), analyzes call content in real time and intervenes immediately during a call if it detects a risk of voice phishing. It drew attention for going beyond simple warnings to verify the caller's authenticity and provide psychological reassurance, helping victims regain their ability to make their own judgments.
Other teams receiving Excellence Awards included Geumnawara Ttukttak (individual, Shinhan Bank President's Award), Nangman Yeonguso (Shinhan Bank, KakaoBank CEO's Award), Goreun Saramdeul (Korea Internet & Security Agency, KB Securities CEO's Award), and DNDN (Dijainobeul, Korea Life Insurance Association Chairman's Award).
The awards ceremony is scheduled to take place on the 12th at FISCON 2026, the Financial Information Security Conference. All award recipients will receive preferential consideration when applying for jobs at the Financial Security Institute.
Financial Security Institute President Park Sang-won said, "Seeing participants turn their ideas into services that actually work gave me a firsthand sense of the potential of financial AI," adding, "We will build a security foundation that enables financial companies to use AI with confidence and support innovative financial services so they can take root in the field."
[email protected] Park Mun-su Reporter