KakaoPay Securities partners with Dinari and Ondo to explore stock tokenization in South Korea

Korean KakaoPay's securities and tokenization platform Dinari and Ondo Finance have reached separate collaborations to explore the on-chain integration of Korean listed stocks and distribution to overseas market investors. KakaoPay announced these two independent agreements on Tuesday, covering the acquisition of target Korean stocks, tokenization infrastructure, and potential distribution arrangements outside of Korea.

The collaboration with Dinari will rely on its dShares model for a proof of concept, which aims to retain shareholder rights, including dividends and voting. Dinari currently offers 724 tokenized U.S. stocks and ETFs through dShares, and this collaboration explores extending that model to stocks of Korean listed companies. Dinari CEO Gabe Otte stated that the proof of concept has not yet selected specific Korean listed companies and has not set a commercialization timeline; the proposed model will use locally listed stocks in Korea as the underlying assets, rather than tokens that only track their prices.

The initial focus of the agreement with Ondo is to establish a framework for the acquisition and custody of Korean listed stocks, preparing for subsequent tokenization. KakaoPay will operate a comprehensive account for foreign investors to hold and manage the underlying stocks, and both parties will also study the issuance and redemption mechanisms for tokens. This collaboration comes as Korea advances its token securities regulatory framework: the Korean National Assembly passed an amendment in January this year, recognizing distributed ledgers as legitimate securities registries; the Financial Services Commission included it in capital market reforms in June; and the framework is set to take effect in February 2027.