Bank of Korea’s CBDC builder LG CNS taps Chainlink for won stablecoins

LG CNS, the company building the Bank of Korea’s digital currency platform called Project Hangang, announced a partnership with Chainlink to bolster won-pegged stablecoins and digital asset infrastructure for institutions in South Korea, the two companies said Thursday.

Seoul still lacks legal basis for commercial won stablecoins.

Partners count more than 11 million eligible users

LG CNS, the IT arm of LG Group, will incorporate Chainlink’s cross-chain, data and orchestration infrastructure into its Digital Asset Platform Solution for Korean institutions. The companies said the setup connects blockchain networks with institutional systems.

The firms reckon the won stablecoin segment to be more than 11 million eligible users, in a Korean digital asset market they value at $68 billion.

LG CNS is the lead contractor on Project Hangang, the Bank of Korea’s flagship digital currency project. It builds, operates and grows the country’s digital currency infrastructure.

The first phase of the project involved some 80,000 customers across seven Korean banks. LG CNS has also selected Injective to manage trade receivables associated with cross-border business, Cryptopolitan reported.

Chainlink is a decentralized oracle network for smart contracts. It connects disparate blockchains and feeds smart contracts with outside data.

The companies will join forces to develop oracle, interoperability and cross-chain standards based on the rules facing Korean institutions.

“By combining LG CNS’s institutional expertise with Chainlink’s technology standards, this partnership establishes the foundation for compliant digital asset infrastructure in Korea,” said Johann Eid, chief business officer at Chainlink Labs.

Hongkeun Kim targets Seoul’s tokenized securities market

South Korea has the second-largest digital asset market in Asia, with the won coming second in crypto trading volume after the US dollar, according to Chainlink.

Cryptopolitan’s Injective & BDACS won stablecoin deal coverage found dollar tokens account for over 98% of the market, and Korea’s top five exchanges witnessed net stablecoin outflows of about $10.4 billion across 18 months in a row.

South Korea does not yet have a clear legal basis for commercial issuance and trading of won-linked stablecoins. The lawmakers are also working on the Digital Asset Basic Act that would lay down rules for won stablecoins and other parts of the sector.

According to Cryptopolitan, the bill is in the last stage of government review and is headed for legislative discussion in November 2026.

The LG Group has 63 affiliates with combined assets of 186 trillion won ($140.4 billion). The subsidiaries are worth more than $100 billion in aggregate market value.

“Korea’s financial infrastructure is entering the tokenization era,” said Hongkeun Kim, executive vice president and head of LG CNS’s digital business division. The two companies plan to quicken the growth of Korea’s tokenized securities market, he added.

Seoul is also experimenting with bank-issued tokens. South Korea’s deposit token pilot replacing government purchase cards with deposit tokens created by commercial banks was previously covered by Cryptopolitan.