Tether, the firm behind the stablecoin USDT, met with officials from the South Korean financial heavyweight Shinhan Bank on September 8.
The South Korean media outlet MoneyS reported that Tether officials are in the country to attend a domestic blockchain conference. But the executives are also reportedly planning meetings with a range of domestic fintech companies, including the neobank Toss.
Quynh Le, Tethers’ Regional Expansion Lead in the APAC area, and Andres Kim, the firm’s Bolivia-based Expansion Manager, were also in attendance. The summit is Shinhan Financial Group Chairman Jin Ok-dong’s second meeting with a major US stablecoin issuer in the space of a month.
The media outlet wrote that several Tether executives attended the Shinhan meeting, including Vice President Marco Dal Lago, the firm’s head of Global Expansions and Strategic Partnerships.
While there are no immediate plans for further meetings during the Tether officials’ visit to, the “possibility of more talks remains open,” MoneyS wrote. Another major financial group, Nonghyup (NH), has also previously sent its blockchain and cryptoasset division chiefs to meet Tether executives.
KEB Hana Financial Group and Woori Financial Group officials have already spoken to Tether officials about stablecoins. The parties held meetings on August 26.
Conservative voices believe that only the commercial banking sector should be allowed to issue KRW stablecoins. MoneyS concluded that “global companies with established issuance and distribution networks” are likely to continue discussing collaboration options with domestic financial institutions until lawmakers come to an agreement.
South Korean lawmakers are currently divided on the question of whether they should let major tech firms and IT startups issue stablecoins, in addition to large financial groups.
