South Korea's Kakaopay Securities is collaborating with Dinari and Ondo Finance to explore tokenizing Korean-listed stocks. The partnerships aim to create a framework for distributing these tokenized equities to international investors, preserving shareholder rights.
The partnerships signal a move towards integrating traditional Korean equities into the growing tokenized asset market, potentially increasing accessibility for international investors and creating new distribution channels for Korean companies.
South Korea's Kakaopay Securities is embarking on a strategic partnership with tokenization firms Dinari and Ondo Finance to explore the on-chain tokenization of Korean-listed stocks. The collaborations, announced on Tuesday, aim to create a pathway for distributing these tokenized equities to international investors while ensuring the preservation of shareholder rights, including dividends and voting.
Under the agreement with Dinari, the companies will conduct a proof of concept utilizing Dinari's dShares model, which is designed to maintain shareholder rights. Dinari currently offers tokenized US stocks and ETFs, and this partnership seeks to extend that model to Korean equities. Dinari CEO Gabe Otte indicated that specific Korean companies have not yet been selected for the proof of concept and that a commercial timeline has not been set. The proposed model would utilize actual Korean shares as underlying assets, rather than price-tracking tokens.
The partnership with Ondo Finance will focus on developing a framework for sourcing and custodying Korean-listed shares that can be tokenized. Kakaopay plans to operate a foreign investor omnibus account for holding and administering these underlying shares. Ondo and Kakaopay will also investigate token issuance and redemption processes. Any decision to commercialize tokenized Korean equities will be contingent on legal and regulatory approvals in both South Korea and relevant overseas markets.
These developments coincide with South Korea's preparation to implement a new regulatory framework for tokenized securities. Amendments approved in January recognize distributed ledgers for securities registration and permit the issuance of token securities, with the framework scheduled to take effect in February 2027. The Korea Securities Depository is actively developing infrastructure to integrate its existing securities account system with blockchain technology.
Otte noted significant institutional interest in South Korea regarding tokenization as infrastructure to connect its capital markets with global investors. He emphasized that the opportunity lies not just in creating tokenized versions of Korean equities but in building infrastructure for broader international distribution while protecting underlying security rights.
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