Kakao Pay Securities Paves Way for Global Tokenization of South Korean Equities

Kakao Pay Securities has made significant strides in opening up South Korean equities to global investors through blockchain infrastructure. The company has signed memoranda of understanding (MOUs) with Ondo Finance and Dinari Global to explore tokenization and international distribution of South Korean-listed stocks.

The partnerships mark a concrete move towards providing global investors with blockchain-based access to Korean equities, a shift away from the traditional depositary receipt route. Currently, international access to Korean equities is narrow, with only a subset of companies having depositary receipts listed on overseas exchanges.

Dinari's dShares model, which will be tested in this proof of concept, preserves core shareholder rights and offers benefits such as cash dividends, automated corporate actions, voting, redemption, and a protected claim to the backing securities. The distribution would run through Dinari's existing partner network, serving eligible investors in the United States and over 85 jurisdictions worldwide.

Kakao Pay Securities Executive Vice President Inyoung Chung stated that the partnership aims to develop a concrete framework for international distribution of Korean equities, starting with sourcing and advancing through a proof of concept for equity tokenization.