Partnerships span Grab, SCBX, Kyobo Life and beyond

Collaboration crosses platform, finance and digital asset sectors

Group aims to link issuance, payments and remittance in one ecosystem

Kakao Group (Kakao, Kakao Bank and Kakao Pay) and Grab signed an MOU to build a Korea-Southeast Asia digital asset ecosystem. From left: Kakao Bank CEO Yoon Ho-young, Grab CEO Anthony Tan, Kakao CEO Chung Shin-a and Kakao Pay CEO Shin Won-keun. [Kakao]
Kakao Group (Kakao, Kakao Bank and Kakao Pay) and Grab signed an MOU to build a Korea-Southeast Asia digital asset ecosystem. From left: Kakao Bank CEO Yoon Ho-young, Grab CEO Anthony Tan, Kakao CEO Chung Shin-a and Kakao Pay CEO Shin Won-keun. [Kakao]

Kakao Group is accelerating its push to build a won-backed stablecoin ecosystem, striking a series of partnerships with platform, financial and digital asset companies at home and abroad. The group's strategy appears aimed at positioning itself ahead of domestic regulation while tapping Southeast Asia's platform and financial infrastructure to capture early demand for cross-border payments and remittances in won-denominated stablecoins.

Kakao Group — comprising Kakao, Kakao Bank and Kakao Pay — announced Wednesday that it has signed MOUs with Southeast Asian platform giant Grab, Thai financial holding company SCBX, insurer Kyobo Life and digital asset firm Bonanza Factory, among other domestic and international partners, to cooperate on digital asset projects.

The group plans to build a collaborative framework covering the issuance, distribution, payments, remittances and financial services of won-backed stablecoins. The focus is on laying the business and technology groundwork so that once relevant legislation and regulatory frameworks are in place, the group can move quickly to launch actual services.

The partnerships with global companies are also intended to explore overseas use cases for won-backed stablecoins. Kakao Group signed separate MOUs with Grab and SCBX in December last year and has since been examining digital asset business models that connect the Korean and Southeast Asian markets.

With Grab, the group will pursue won-backed stablecoin issuance and distribution, development of related services, regional expansion strategies and exchanges of technology and operational expertise. With SCBX, it plans to develop digital asset services including overseas payments and remittances, and to identify business models spanning Korea and Thailand. "We are discussing ways to expand services within the bounds of both countries' financial regulations and relevant laws," a Kakao spokesperson said.

Domestically, the group is deepening ties with financial and digital asset companies. Since March this year, Kakao Group has been working with Kyobo Life on developing financial services using digital assets and conducting proof-of-concept projects. The aim is to combine capabilities across the platform, banking, payments and insurance sectors to flesh out real-world use cases.

In April last year, the group signed an MOU with digital asset specialist Bonanza Factory for joint development of virtual asset services and a broader partnership. The two sides are cooperating on designing a won-backed stablecoin with anti-money laundering safeguards and other security and reliability considerations, as well as building up the related technical capabilities.

Kakao Group is also expanding its alliances with global digital asset companies. After signing an MOU with stablecoin issuer Circle Internet Group in July, the group this month concluded an agreement with digital asset infrastructure firm Fireblocks. The moves reflect the group's intention to collaborate with partners across diverse industries — global platforms, major domestic financial institutions and digital asset specialists alike.

Shin Won-keun, CEO of Kakao Pay and co-head of the Kakao Group Stablecoin TF, said the competitiveness of digital assets such as stablecoins "is only fully realized when diverse industries and services are organically connected, rather than through the technology itself." He added that the group would "work with partners who have accumulated expertise and competitiveness in their respective fields to develop practical use models that deliver new value in everyday life and business."

Yoon Ho-young, CEO of Kakao Bank and co-head of the Kakao Group Stablecoin TF, said that for stablecoins to take root as a new financial service in daily life, "joint efforts that transcend national and industry boundaries are essential." He said the group would "combine Kakao Group's platform and financial service capabilities with partnerships with diverse domestic and international partners to create innovative services."


forest@heraldcorp.com