Nonghyup Financial Group Chairman Son Byung-hwan on Friday highlighted the group’s efforts to incorporate the metaverse into its businesses.

“Many experts predict that the era of the metaverse is what will come next after this smartphone era,” Son said, urging the company’s executives to “study the possibility of commercialization with interest in the metaverse.”

In accordance with Son’s vision, the group said it plans to set up a metaverse task force within its digital strategy department to set tasks for each of its affiliates.

NH Investment & Securities and Nonghyup Bank are building their own metaverse platforms.

The brokerage arm of Nonghyup Financial Group is planning to launch a metaverse platform by the end of October and participate in conferences using avatars.

Nonghyup Bank will also form a consortium with participants from various industries to experiment with this new type of financial platform. It plans to complete the preliminary preparation process by the end of October and start building a platform, with the aim of launching it in the first half of next year.

Nonghyup Insurance and NH Savings Bank plan to create their own metaverse maps on Zepeto, internet giant Naver’s metaverse platform, to explore how best to optimize customer communication and marketing.

The metaverse is a term used to describe the virtual world shared by internet users, particularly through virtual reality and augmented reality.