South Korean Execs Meet Tether, Circle to Discuss Stablecoin Adoption

As of August 2025, South Korea is preparing to launch a legal framework for stablecoins in October of that year. In the lead-up to this development, top executives from some of the country's biggest financial groups are set to meet with executives from stablecoin giants Tether and Circle Internet Group this week.

The meetings will focus on the potential distribution and use of dollar-pegged stablecoins, such as Tether's USDT and Circle's USDC, in the South Korean market. The discussions will also cover the issuance of stablecoins backed by the South Korean won. Executives from Shinhan Financial Group, Hana Financial Group, KB Financial Group, and Woori Bank are all scheduled to participate in the talks.

This development comes as South Korea's ruling and opposition parties have clashed over the appropriate legal frameworks for regulating stablecoins. While the current, crypto-friendly president has overseen the legalization of Bitcoin ETFs and increased KYC/AML oversight, the opposition party has debated the use of interest-generating stablecoins and strict capital limitations. Meanwhile, the country's central bank has explored linking its own deposit tokens to a public blockchain to coexist with privately-issued stablecoins.

Experts view this as an "interesting" move, given South Korea's historically domestic approach to crypto regulation, with foreign institutions facing barriers to entry. However, the meetings with Tether and Circle suggest the country may be open to greater integration of stablecoins into its financial ecosystem.