Shinhan Asset Management is partnering with global blockchain firms to conduct technical validation for issuing and distributing won-denominated funds in blockchain-based token form. The strategy is to proactively secure digital financial product design and operational capabilities ahead of South Korea’s regulatory framework for security tokens (STOs).<\/p>\n
Shinhan Asset Management announced on the 21st that it has signed a four-way memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Solana Foundation, tokenization issuance platform Etherfuse, and on-chain liquidity infrastructure provider Orca to conduct a proof-of-concept (PoC) covering the entire issuance and distribution process for won-denominated tokenized funds.<\/p>\n
The core focus of the agreement is to verify whether the digital financial product structure introduced by global asset manager BlackRock through its tokenized fund “BUIDL” can be applied to won-denominated assets. The premise is that overseas institutional investors would purchase won-denominated ultra-short-term bond funds managed by Shinhan Asset Management, which would then be issued in token form.<\/p>\n
The four institutions will jointly validate the entire process from token issuance to distribution. Specifically, they will examine know-your-customer (KYC) and anti-money laundering (AML) frameworks that comply with domestic and international legal systems, blockchain operational methods, security audits, compliance with the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act, and on-chain liquidity design.<\/p>\n
Growth of the RWA Tokenization Market<\/p>\n
The digitalization of real-world assets (RWA) has been accelerating rapidly in global financial markets. According to RWA research firm RWA.io, the real-world asset tokenization market excluding stablecoins is valued at approximately $36.27 billion (about 50.1 trillion won), representing 2,200% growth since 2020. Major institutions including Boston Consulting Group (BCG) project the market will expand to $16 trillion to $30 trillion by 2030.<\/p>\n
Lee Seok-won, CEO of Shinhan Asset Management, said, “We will demonstrate the issuance and distribution structure for won-denominated digital products together with world-class partners.” He added, “Our goal is to lead the won-based digital financial product management market by proactively securing validated capabilities that can be deployed immediately once regulations take effect.”<\/p>\n
However, this MOU is a non-binding agreement confirming mutual intent to cooperate and does not confirm actual product issuance. The scope of validation is also limited to technical proof-of-concept premised on offshore markets. Shinhan Asset Management plans to focus on technical validation and related infrastructure preparation until South Korea’s security token regulations are implemented, and will subsequently identify products that can be issued and distributed in accordance with future laws and financial authorities’ guidelines.<\/p>\n
Kakao Shares Plunge on Spin-Off Announcement<\/p>\n
The same day, Kakao announced a comprehensive governance overhaul. Kakao’s board of directors resolved to execute a spin-off, creating “Kakao AI,” a new entity handling KakaoTalk and AI businesses, and “Kakao X,” the surviving entity managing investment and subsidiary operations.<\/p>\n
The split ratio, based on net asset book value, is 0.36 for Kakao AI and 0.64 for Kakao X. Existing shareholders will receive shares in both companies according to the split ratio. Kakao plans to complete the split on January 1 next year following an extraordinary shareholders’ meeting on December 17, and pursue the relisting of Kakao AI and the change-of-listing for Kakao X on January 27.<\/p>\n
Kakao AI will leverage KakaoTalk’s platform competitiveness to integrate AI technology and expand advertising and commerce businesses, while Kakao X will function as an investment company nurturing and managing affiliates across core business segments including tech-fin, content, and mobility. Kakao has set a 2030 revenue target of over 6 trillion won (approximately $4.3 billion) for Kakao AI with an operating margin above 30%, and a revenue target of over 10 trillion won (approximately $7.2 billion) for Kakao X in the same year. The company also committed to 300 billion won (approximately $217 million) in share buybacks and cancellations over three years following the split.<\/p>\n
Market Reaction and Outlook<\/p>\n
Trading in Kakao shares was temporarily halted immediately after the spin-off disclosure. The Korea Exchange’s KOSPI Market Division suspended trading in Kakao at 10:04 a.m. that day, with trading resuming 30 minutes later at approximately 10:34 a.m. After trading resumed, the stock posted a double-digit decline, falling 11.76% from the previous session to 34,150 won (approximately $25).<\/p>\n
Reactions from retail investors were mixed. On stock discussion boards, criticism such as “Another split?” clashed with counterarguments that “This time it’s a spin-off, so it’s different.” While a spin-off by nature does not reduce existing shareholders’ stakes, the key question is how the market will value the two companies after the separation.<\/p>\n
Kakao AI, by combining KakaoTalk, AI, and advertising and commerce under one roof, has the potential to be recognized for independent corporate value as a growth company. In contrast, Kakao X faces the burden of a potential “holding company discount,” as it loses the core KakaoTalk service and takes on a stronger investment company character. Ultimately, the extent to which the “AI premium” accorded to Kakao AI offsets the “investment company discount” that may apply to Kakao X will determine shareholder value after the split.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Shinhan Asset Management is partnering with global blockchain firms to conduct technical validation for issuing and distributing won-denominated…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":128446,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[622],"tags":[10828,65659,827,19889,65328,337,65661,65660,2617,65658],"class_list":["post-128445","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-kakao","tag-blackrock","tag-etherfuse","tag-kakao","tag-kakao-ai","tag-kakao-x","tag-korea-exchange","tag-lee-seok-won","tag-orca","tag-shinhan-asset-management","tag-solana-foundation"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128445","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=128445"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128445\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/128446"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=128445"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=128445"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=128445"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}