"Going forward, corporations will be required to make greater efforts to reduce carbon. HooXi Partners, which is developing technology to turn carbon value into an asset, is aiming to list on KOSDAQ in 2028."
Park Jong-han, executive director at HooXi Partners, an artificial intelligence (AI) carbon platform specialist, met with ChosunBiz at "Korea Fintech Week 2025," held at the aT Center in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on the 26th and said, "As in the case where Hyundai Motor has required first-tier suppliers to submit greenhouse gas reduction plans when signing contracts since September, demand for carbon reduction is increasing due to global regulations and the demands of corporations," and stated accordingly.
Founded in Nov. 2021, HooXi Partners provides the AI carbon management platform "NetZ" and solutions for the acquisition and transaction of carbon credits to corporations and public institutions. Carbon credits are the right for a corporation or a country to emit a certain amount of carbon over a set period, allocated by a government or an international organization.
HooXi Partners' revenue model is a fee that occurs when revenue is generated by transacting credits secured by client companies. It supports carbon management services for securing credits through the NetZ platform, and it has increased service utilization by loading an AI agent onto the platform. S-OIL and Korea Midland Power (KOMIPO) use this service.
The "external projects of the emissions trading scheme" are also one of HooXi Partners' core businesses. It is a program that helps corporations (non-allocated corporations) that have not been allocated credits by the government but voluntarily reduced greenhouse gases to have their reductions recognized as official credits. HooXi Partners' main customers are these non-allocated corporations.
Recently, the company signed a contract with Bucheon Bus, a city bus transportation corporation, enabling the corporation to measure and certify the amount of carbon reduced by its electric buses and convert and transact it as credits. Executive Director Park explained, "Of Bucheon Bus' 200 buses, half are electric, but they were not subject to credit allocation," and "(Bucheon Bus) was able to receive credits and generate transaction revenue."
To provide the certification solution, HooXi Partners received the nation's first approval in 2022 from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport for the "transport sector electric vehicle adoption support program reduction project." Park emphasized, "It takes on average more than two years to obtain the certification, so it is not easy for latecomers to follow."
The tightening of domestic and international carbon reduction regulations is also serving as a growth driver for HooXi Partners. In particular, starting next year, the European Union (EU) plans to fully implement the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), which mandates the purchase of credits for imports of six key items, including steel and cement, according to their carbon emissions.
According to the draft of the "2035 national greenhouse gas reduction target (NDC)" finalized by the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment, Korea aims to reduce net domestic greenhouse gas emissions by 53% to 61% by 2035 compared with 2018.
Last month, HooXi Partners was selected as an official implementing agency for the Small and Medium Business Corporation's "carbon-neutral management innovation voucher program." It provides consulting, including calculating carbon emissions, to help small and mid-size manufacturing corporations respond to global carbon regulations such as CBAM.
HooXi Partners aims to list on the KOSDAQ market in 2028. It plans to invest the funds raised through the listing in expanding its existing credits business. As of the third quarter this year, HooXi Partners achieved cumulative sales of 2.2 billion won. The company expects annual sales of at least 3 billion won this year.
Park said, "As a leading corporation in the climate Fintech industry, we will build a carbon finance ecosystem in which we can participate in credit development and transaction, and support corporations in achieving their carbon-neutral goals."