Can we completely eliminate inconvenience?

One random morning, a short conversation with Seunggun Lee, Toss Team Leader

Toss’ book No Ordinary Challenge details the company’s ten years of struggles and growth. The part you wrote was titled “A Certain Prejudice.” It was about the doubts you faced. The many voices saying, “It won’t work,” and the faith and optimism that kept you moving forward. It’s been four years since the book was published, what has remained the same and what has changed?

We still face prejudice every day. Each time we take on a new challenge, even within the team, questions inevitably arise: “Is this really necessary now?” or “Is this something we must do?” Especially as we move beyond a financial super app toward an everyday super app and eventually a global super app, we meet not only support but also doubt and opposition. There is only one way to answer them: by proving it through results. I want to continue leading challenges that push beyond typical standards, so that more people can say, “This was the right path.” If anything has changed, it’s that more people believe in us and expect great things from us, thanks to the successes we’ve built.

Is this “prejudice” still prevalent from an outside point of view?

I don’t feel like people truly believe yet that goodwill is at the very foundation of Toss as a company. We sincerely want people to enjoy a more convenient financial life, which is why we release our patented technologies for free and provide systems like Phishing Zero to the market at no cost, because we hope to solve voice phishing at a national level. We also host exchanges and conferences to spread technology. Our focus on generating revenue from services is simply because greater impact requires financial resources. Yet, despite these efforts, some still think, “They’re just in it for the money,” or question how genuine a company can really be about driving social change.

Does it upset you when people doubt your sincerity?

Of course it can be upsetting. But given the pace Toss needs to move at, there is no time to dwell on those feelings. Personally, I’m not the type to linger on disappointment for long. What I can do is keep stepping up to challenge and prove myself.

Do you have a Plan B in mind in case the area you’re focusing on now doesn’t work out?

That’s never been our mindset. Our approach has always been to set up the best possible Plan A and keep pushing until it works. Of course, we’ve experienced plenty of failures along the way, from acquisition attempts we can’t really talk about to losing significant amounts of money. But when we decide that Plan A for a particular goal is no longer feasible, we don’t move on to a Plan B or Plan C. Instead, we shift to a new goal or problem to solve and start fresh there.

Do you think Toss has finally become the ultimate financial super app?

I believe Toss now has the organizational drive, speed, and value-driven foundation to continue evolving into an even more powerful financial super app. There is still much to improve, but we have built a complete, internal ecosystem with the resources and strength to experiment, grow our services, and scale revenue.

You’ve said you want to go beyond a financial super app, expanding into daily life, offline, and even global. Why is this expansion necessary?

Why not dream bigger? The financial experience created by Toss is unprecedented in the world. When we show the demo app to overseas investors and industry leaders, they are astonished: “Is this really possible in real time?” “Can users really gather and use all their financial information like this?” In contrast, many global fintech services remain inconvenient and limited to fragmented features. With no true financial super app yet in existence, our next step is definitely expanding the innovation proven in Korea to the rest of the world. From there, it was only natural to envision bringing the same kind of transformation to people’s daily lives as we have already brought to their financial lives.

At the same time, expansion is a journey toward a bigger dream. We refuse to settle for what we have already achieved. It is the very act of taking on new challenges that excites and energizes the team. If we succeed on the global stage, Toss will stand as proof that Korean companies just like us can lead the world with their software and services. We hope to become a beacon of hope for those who follow, showing them that they, too, can succeed. Beyond that, global expansion will generate abundant resources and cash flow, which we can reinvest into our business, fueling a virtuous cycle of even stronger growth.

When I first joined Toss, I was so excited to be surrounded by people chasing big dreams, and getting one step closer every day. As the team continues to grow rapidly, new members naturally bring diverse styles and approaches to solving problems. Despite those differences, what is the “one quality you believe every team member should share”?

It would be independent thinking. I don’t want Toss members to just follow existing methods or the rules without question, but instead rethink things from the ground up. It’s about having the freedom to ask, “If there’s a better way, why aren’t we doing it? Why don’t I try another approach?” If, after that reflection, the conventional way still proves to be the most reasonable, then you stick to that. If not, you should have the courage to say so.

What do you want “Toss’ partnership” to mean to your team members, or even to investors and customers?

A sense of liberation. Toss is a company that may look abnormal by society’s standards, because it brings together people who constantly question the conventional way of doing things and search for better answers on their own. Outside of Toss, such thoughts and attitudes may have been in the minority, but here they form the majority. Team members find comfort in sharing the same mindset, realizing they are not alone.

Here, independent thinking and freedom are respected, and this has led to innovations and achievements once thought unimaginable. That is why working with Toss means more than just a job or an investment. It inspires people to realize, “I can live this way too,” and gives them the courage to break free from the status quo. Ultimately, we hope this spirit will spread across society, becoming a movement that empowers more people to take on challenges.

How far along do you think Toss has come to achieving the vision of “eliminating inconvenience for all”?

There is still a long way to go. Even within Korea, many financial inconveniences remain unresolved, and when it comes to everyday life, the gaps are even larger. Our challenges ahead include becoming a service used by every Korean, tackling real daily-life problems, and creating the right environment to launch our services globally. That’s why it feels too soon to measure how far we’ve come. To us, it feels more like Day 1. Despite more than a decade of progress, the real beginning starts now.

Interviewer Soeun Joo