LG CNS has secured a 291 billion won contract to modernize Saemaul Geumgo’s core banking systems, signing the final agreement about two months after being selected as the preferred bidder in August. The project will overhaul major financial transaction systems, including deposits, loans and withdrawals, used by more than 1,200 Saemaul Geumgo credit cooperatives nationwide.

LG CNS disclosed on Oct. 15 that it had signed a contract with the Korean Federation of Community Credit Cooperatives (KFCC) for the modernization of Saemaul Geumgo’s core banking systems. The contract value represents 4.75% of LG CNS’s consolidated revenue of 6.1295 trillion won last year.

The project will run for two years and four months, from Oct. 15 through Feb. 14, 2029. The contract was formally signed on Oct. 14. There is no initial payment or advance payment, with payments to be billed and received as the project progresses.

The KFCC previously allocated a total budget of 337 billion won for the core banking modernization project. LG CNS was selected as the preferred bidder on Aug. 7. Although the contract value had not been finalized at the time, the latest agreement confirms the project value and implementation period.

Core banking systems process customer accounts and financial transactions, including deposits, loans and transfers, in real time. Saemaul Geumgo’s existing system was built in 2009 and has been operating for approximately 17 years. The project will completely rebuild the system using modern technologies.

LG CNS will migrate the existing core banking system to a Java-based architecture and overhaul major banking applications covering deposits, lending, customer management, accounting, debit cards and electronic banking. The project also includes separating in-person and digital services and restructuring the architecture so that systems for different banking functions can operate independently.

The company will also rebuild the product factory used to develop and manage financial products. Integrated terminals used by branch employees will be migrated to HTML5, while new sales support systems will incorporate electronic forms and tablets. Core banking infrastructure and disaster recovery systems will also be modernized.

Maintaining uninterrupted financial transactions will be critical given the project’s scale. According to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, South Korea had 1,239 Saemaul Geumgo credit cooperatives with combined assets of 273.3 trillion won as of the end of June. Existing financial services must remain stable while data is migrated to the new systems.

LG CNS previously signed a contract in December last year for NH NongHyup Bank’s next-generation core banking project, Project NEO. The project involves a complete overhaul of the bank’s customer account, financial product and transaction processing systems and is scheduled to run through April 2028.