Kakaopay Securities signed two separate agreements with tokenization firms Dinari and Ondo Finance on Tuesday to explore bringing Korean-listed equities onchain and distributing them to investors outside South Korea.

The partnerships address three operational layers: sourcing underlying Korean shares, building tokenization infrastructure, and structuring distribution channels for foreign investors. Each counterparty brings a distinct technical mandate.

How will Dinari's dShares model extend to Korean stocks?

Under the Dinari agreement, the firms will run a proof of concept using Dinari's dShares architecture, which is engineered to preserve shareholder rights including dividends and voting entitlements. Dinari currently lists 724 tokenized US stocks and ETFs through the same dShares framework.

Dinari has not named specific Korean-listed companies for the proof of concept and has not set a public timeline for commercial availability, CEO Gabe Otte said. He told Cointelegraph that the proposed structure would hold locally listed Korean shares as the underlying asset rather than tokens that merely mirror their prices.

Otte added: "We're seeing meaningful institutional interest in South Korea, particularly around tokenization as infrastructure for connecting Korean capital markets with global investors... The opportunity isn't simply to create tokenized versions of Korean equities, but to build infrastructure that can ultimately expand how those equities are distributed internationally while preserving the rights and protections of the underlying securities."

What does the Ondo agreement cover?

The Ondo agreement starts with a framework for sourcing and custodying Korean-listed shares that could later be tokenized. Kakaopay Securities will run a foreign investor omnibus account to hold and administer the underlying shares. The two firms will also research token issuance and redemption mechanics.

Both Dinari and Ondo said any commercialization decision will hinge on legal and regulatory requirements in South Korea and in destination jurisdictions.

What regulatory framework governs the effort?

The agreements arrive as South Korea prepares a new regime for tokenized securities. The National Assembly approved amendments in January that recognize distributed ledgers as valid securities registries and authorize the issuance and circulation of token securities.

The Financial Services Commission tied token securities infrastructure to a broader capital markets overhaul in June. The framework takes effect in February 2027. The Korea Securities Depository is building systems to connect its existing account infrastructure with blockchain-based data.

How large is the tokenized equities market?

Tokenized equities reached roughly $3.2 billion in distributed value by late September, according to RWA.xyz. Supply remains heavily concentrated in US names and ETFs — including Strategy, Circle, Nvidia, and Tesla. With South Korea's tokenized securities framework set to take effect in February 2027, Korean listings represent the next structural category both firms are positioning to serve.