Tether and Circle are about to sit down with the chief executives of the four largest banks in South Korea this week. These meetings are designed to find novel avenues for launching stablecoins in the local financial sector and wider digital currency space.
South Korea’s reputable Yonhap News Agency has today confirmed that the two companies will have meetings with the main representatives from Shinhan, Hana, KB, and Woori groups. Executives will consider possible collaborations in Korean won-backed stablecoins and US dollar-backed stablecoin distribution models in South Korea.
Circle’s President Heath Tarbert will meet Shinhan Financial Group’s Chief Executive Jin Ok-dong and Hana Financial Group’s Chief Executive Ham Young-joo on Friday. Young-joo will also meet a Tether official on the same day for additional talks.
Tether and Circle expand international partnerships
At the same time, KB Financial Group Chief Digital and Technology Officer Lee Chang-kwon and Woori Bank President Jeong Jin-wan will hold individual meetings with Tarbert. These four banking groups, formally designated by the Financial Services Commission as systemically significant players, are the foundation of financial stability in South Korea.
This development comes as South Korea advances a legislative framework designed to regulate won-backed stablecoins under the Virtual Asset User Protection Act. The Financial Services Commission is preparing to present this bill as part of its second regulatory phase for the nation’s digital asset industry.
Earlier this month in July, some of the South Korean banks experienced substantial rises in their stocks after registering applications for stablecoin products in the realm of trademarks. The trend continued after KakaoBank, the financial arm of Kakao Corporation, declared plans to engage actively in the stablecoin space.
South Korea has now put its central bank digital currency project on hold in order to pay more attention to promoting local stablecoin development. Before making this announcement, eight major banks had already started negotiating in order to collaboratively develop a won-backed stablecoin project within the coming year.
For Tether and Circle, the sessions are a follow-up to global outreach as governments are refining stablecoin regulations. Both firms have lobbied Washington, D.C., policymakers and signed mutual agreements with overseas governments, including Uzbekistan, Guinea, and El Salvador, in recent months, broadening their international strategy.
