Ondo Kakaopay Securities Sign Tokenized Korean Stocks MOU

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The two firms want to study how to distribute exposure to Korean listed equities abroad. They also plan joint research on tokenization infrastructure. However, commercialization stays on hold, pending legal and regulatory review.

What Ondo and Kakaopay Securities Signed

Ondo’s official blog says the two sides signed the MOU on Monday, September 28, at Kakaopay Securities’ Pangyo headquarters. Chung Inyoung, an executive vice president at the brokerage, attended. So did Matthieu de Vergnes, Ondo’s global head of institutional.

Reports still conflict on the details. Financial News placed the signing at a Yeouido office in Seoul. Meanwhile, one Korean photo caption even listed an August date. For now, treat Ondo’s September 28 date and Pangyo venue as the official account.

The public post lists three workstreams. First, a framework for international distribution of Korean listed equities. Second, a joint task force for overseas retail investors. Third, shared research on tokenization infrastructure. The firms plan to form that task force later in 2026.

Chung framed the goal in practical terms.

Global demand for investment opportunities in Korean companies continues to grow rapidly, yet access channels for overseas retail investors remain limited. Our goal is to develop the international distribution of Korean equities into a service that works in practice.

De Vergnes stressed the market’s importance for Ondo.

South Korea is one of the most sophisticated digital asset markets in the world. Together with Kakaopay Securities, we are bringing tokenized equities and other real-world assets into services people already use every day.

How Tokenized Korean Stocks Would Work

A tokenized stock is a blockchain receipt that tracks a real share held by a broker. You buy the token, and the issuer holds the underlying stock. The price should follow the listed share closely.

Under the sketch described so far, Kakaopay Securities would handle the Korea side. It would pool foreign demand in an omnibus account. Then it would buy, custody and administer the underlying Korean shares.

Ondo would handle the global side. Its existing network already distributes tokenized stocks to wallets, exchanges and institutions outside Korea. In between, the partners would research token issuance, redemption and daily reconciliation between shares and tokens.

Still, the hard parts remain open. The firms have not named a single stock, chain or platform. They have also left dividends and voting rights for later study.

Two More Kakaopay Deals Frame the Strategy

The Ondo MOU did not arrive alone. On the same news cycle, Kakaopay Securities signed a separate MOU with Dinari, a U.S. tokenization firm. That second deal covers a proof of concept, and it runs on a parallel track.

There is a third piece, too. In July 2026, Kakaopay and Nasdaq-listed Siebert Financial announced K-Stock Global Gateway. That project targets an initial service in the first half of 2027 for U.S. clients.

KakaoPay owns about 20% of Siebert. So the brokerage now runs three global equity tracks at once. Each one aims to sell Korean shares to investors abroad.

Why the February 2027 Rules Matter

Korea’s timeline sets real limits on tokenized Korean stocks. An amended law takes effect on February 4, 2027. It will recognize security tokens as digitized securities.

The catch sits in the detail. The financial regulator’s roadmap from September 4 starts with a narrow first phase. That phase covers private institutional funds, unlisted stocks via trust, and fractional products.

In other words, it does not cover listed names like Samsung on day one. As a result, the offshore path may move faster than the domestic one. The MOU does not say which route the partners will pick.

What the ONDO Token Did

The market reaction was calm, not explosive. ONDO traded near $0.51 to $0.52 around the announcement. Over 24 hours, the token stayed roughly flat.

The bigger move came earlier. According to OKX data, ONDO climbed from about $0.41 on September 24 toward $0.60 by September 28. So the run-up happened before the news, not after it.

Trading volume tells the same story. On BitKan, volume fell from roughly $248 million on September 28 to under $80 million the next day. Meanwhile, Ondo’s overall protocol value locked sat near $1.82 billion on DefiLlama. This is not financial advice.

What Comes Next for Tokenized Korean Stocks

One caveat sits in the background. Ondo’s founder Nathan Allman died in May 2026, and Ian De Bode now serves as acting chief executive. CoinDesk reported a control dispute at the firm, which Ondo has partly disputed.

The next signal is the joint task force due later in 2026. Its work should show whether tokenized Korean stocks move from slide deck to product. Watch for named tickers, a chosen chain, and a clear legal wrapper.

For now, the honest read is simple. Ondo and Kakaopay Securities have a plan and a partner, not a Korean stock token you can buy. The gap between framework and product is the real story to track.