Ripple has partnered with Kyobo Life Insurance, one of South Korea’s largest life insurers, to pilot blockchain-based government bond settlement as Seoul moves to formalize rules for tokenized securities.
Ripple Custody, Ripple’s digital asset custody solution, will support the issuance, custody and settlement of tokenized government bonds, the company he said in Wednesday’s announcement. The companies will also explore tokenized treasury settlements across the Korean financial system.
The project aims to replace classic bond settlement processes, which often rely on multiple intermediaries and two-day settlement cycles, with onchain execution that enables settlement in near real time. This change could reduce counterparty risk and improve capital efficiency.
The project comes as South Korea builds legal infrastructure for tokenized securities. Amendments recognizing blockchain-based distributed ledgers as valid securities registers were adopted by the National Assembly on January 15, and the up-to-date framework is planned will enter into force on February 4, 2027, after additional rulemaking and infrastructure work.
The reforms also pave the way for investment treaty securities to be traded through regulated securities firms, expanding access and improving market liquidity for non-traditional financial instruments.
Related: South Korea fines Coinone $3.5 million and orders partial suspension of operations: reports
Kyobo Life is exploring stablecoin payments
As part of the partnership, Kyobo Life said it will also explore other exploit cases, including stablecoin-based payment rails and integration with liquidity and financial management systems.
Jin Ho Park, senior executive vice president at Kyobo Life, said that classic financial instruments “can operate safely and efficiently on the blockchain.”
Related: Jito and KODA join forces to invest in institutions in South Korea
Korean bill tightening stablecoin, RWA rules
As Cointelegraph reports, South Korea’s ruling Democratic Party is reportedly preparing legislation that would classify stablecoins used in cross-border payments as currency exchange instruments.
Under the proposed Digital Assets Basic Law, such tokens would be subject to the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act, which would bring related companies under regulatory supervision even without separate licenses.
The bill also introduces stricter rules for tokenized real assets, requiring issuers to secure the underlying assets through regulated trust structures under capital markets law.
Warehouse: South Korea is getting opulent on cryptocurrencies… North Korea is acquiring weapons
