Amazon Web Services (AWS) will soon offer Anthropic's latest artificial intelligence (AI) models Claude Opus 5 and Sonnet 5 in the Seoul Region (a group of data centers). In Korea's regulatory environment, where the transfer of personal financial information overseas is strictly limited, financial companies will be able to use the latest frontier models without sending data abroad, which is expected to greatly expand the scope of AI use by financial firms.
Noh Kyung-hoon, head of financial services and the public sector at AWS Korea, and Choi Ki-young, head of Anthropic Korea, stated accordingly at the "AWS Financial Services Forum Seoul 2026" held on the 27th at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Jung-gu, Seoul. Noh said, "We currently offer Claude Sonnet 3.5 in the Seoul Region, and soon the latest models, including Opus 5 and Sonnet 5, will also be available in the Seoul Region."
Noh said, "AWS is the only cloud service provider (CSP) that offers Anthropic models in-region (domestic server-based)," adding, "Korean financial customers are inquiring almost daily as they await the availability of the latest models in the domestic region." Choi explained, "Even financial institutions concerned about data going overseas will be able to use the latest frontier models safely within the Seoul Region."
At the forum, the assessment was that AI use in Korea's financial sector is moving beyond proof of concept (PoC) into the production stage. Noh said, "Shinhan Card has emphasized agents for years, and this year it is sequentially rolling out customer-facing agents such as credit card recommendations and foreigner credit card screening." Kakao Pay Insurance is boosting developer productivity by using Kiro, AWS's AI development tool, and Mirae Asset Securities is running an "AI-ready data" project based on ontology. Choi said, "What's striking is that CEOs are far more interested than during previous cloud and digital transitions."
Noh and Choi picked "AI-native" as the theme for financial AI next year. Noh said, "We will see forms that reverse-engineer traditional financial operations such as credit screening and securities transactions with AI at the center," adding, "AX (AI transformation) will occur not only in IT but across all departments—HR, finance, planning, and product." Choi forecast, "As business units implement services directly, the time it takes for personalized financial services to reach customers will be dramatically shortened."
On expense optimization, both agreed that the key is choosing models and versions suited to the task. Noh said, "You don't need the top-tier model just to reply to emails," adding that the key is freely switching models and versions to fit the task on Bedrock, AWS's AI platform. Choi said, "Models like Opus 5 that solve complex problems quickly can respond to the market that much faster," adding, "From a time to market perspective, the return on investment (ROI) is high."
Noh emphasized that the concept of security changes in the AI era. Whereas past security meant controlling data and blocking and defending against external threats, AI-era security means "building a platform with auditability that lets you see what data AI used, through what path, to produce that result." Noh added, "When authorities or supervisory bodies request materials or explanations, you need an environment where you can quickly open things up and explain," and "Bedrock provides most of the requirements that financial authorities demand, including monitoring, auditability, and controls."