The number of foreigners visiting Korea is increasing, but for foreigners who are not subscribed to a domestic telecom carrier, it is not easy to order food from "Baemin" or place same-day delivery orders on "Coupang." To pay in the app, identity verification is required, and the process usually asks for a domestic mobile number or a resident registration number.
Tomorow, founded by CEO Jo Yong-u, 39, developed a mobile payment customer verification solution that can ease the inconveniences foreigners face.
Jo met with ChosunBiz at "Korea Fintech Week 2025" on the 26th and said, "As more foreigners visit Korea, more corporations are trying to attract them," adding, "More commerce companies are adopting our technology."
Tomorow, a foreigner electronic know-your-customer (eKYC) specialist company, was founded in December last year and has focused on lowering identity verification barriers for foreigners paying on domestic platforms.
Jo said, "As the number of foreign tourists visiting Korea increases, the need to ease non-face-to-face verification barriers on domestic payment platforms has grown," adding, "Tomorow is helping foreigners access Korea's digital services more easily through technology."
Before founding Tomorow, Jo worked at Yale Accounting Corporation and, after seeing foreign friends around him face these difficulties, conceived the related business. After majoring in accounting at Bentley University in the United States, he attended KAIST Graduate School of Technology Management and received a master's degree in engineering in 2023.
The company plans to expand into overseas markets. Jo said, "We expect growth to pick up in earnest next year as we enter overseas markets."
Tomorow has so far raised a cumulative 100 million won in investment and, on the 8th, was selected for the government's tech startup support program "TIPS," securing about 500 million won in additional funds over the next two years.
Jo said, "With the funds secured so far, we can fully cover labor costs, server expenses, and the cost of goods sold required for customer identification (KYC) certification," adding, "As follow-on investments continue, we expect steep growth next year."
Tomorow posted sales of 70 million won in the third quarter this year, and set next year's sales target at 300 million won. Jo emphasized, "Over the past six months, we have built business references through cooperation with 10 corporations," adding, "Though we are a young company, client companies are taking note of our technological capabilities and execution."
The company also expressed confidence in its technology. From the KYC design stage, Tomorow developed on Haskell, a functional language with strong security and determinism, to enhance technical stability.
Lee Chan-u, 36, Tomorow chief technology officer (CTO), explained, "Haskell is a language with high software stability, and because we handle customers' sensitive identity information, we put a lot of effort into everything from design to implementation with the view that system failures or security issues must not occur."
Tomorow currently operates with three people, including CEO Jo Yong-u. The two employees other than Jo are technical staff who majored in computer engineering. They took charge of the entire process, from technical planning to implementation.
The company has also been focusing on strengthening security through recent data redundancy work. Lee, the CTO, said, "When you duplicate data, design difficulty increases and expenses also rise, but it is essential for a stable service."
Jo added, "While we cannot disclose the company name due to contractual terms, we have signed a contract with Japan's largest KYC company this year and are preparing for commercialization," adding, "We plan to expand overseas not only in Japan and the United States but also in Southeast Asian countries with many foreign tourists."