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Korea Fintech Leader Picks Former eBay Manager to Fill CEO Void

Kim is slated to take the helm of one of the country’s biggest platforms for trading US stocks. Photographer: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg (Qilai Shen/Bloomberg)

(Bloomberg) -- Toss Securities Co., the brokerage arm of South Korea’s largest fintech startup, is close to appointing a former entrepreneur and eBay Inc. manager to the top post.

The company plans to appoint current head of product Kim Gyubin its new chief executive officer after a board meeting Thursday, people familiar with the matter said, asking to remain anonymous before an announcement. Kim is slated to take the helm of one of the country’s biggest platforms for trading US stocks, filling a vacancy created by Kim Seungyeon’s departure for personal reasons recently.

Kim Gyubin was instrumental in launching real-time “fractional” overseas stock trading, which allows investors to buy a portion of a US stock rather than the entire share. Toss Securities introduced that model for US equities in 2022, and it’s proven popular with younger retail investors. 

Company representatives declined to comment. Kim previously worked at the parent app Toss, owned by domestic fintech leader Viva Republica, and eBay Korea. He has a degree in electrical and computer engineering from Carnegie Mellon University, according to his Linkedin page.

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