Circle is organizing an invitation-only industry event in Seoul on July 23 at Josun Palace under the theme "Korea at a Crypto Inflection." According to industry officials cited by The Korea Herald, the event is expected to bring together senior executives from banks, crypto exchanges, payments companies and super-app operators to discuss regulation, industry cooperation and long-term business partnerships. The gathering follows Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire's visit to South Korea in April, when he met executives from KB Kookmin Bank, Shinhan Bank, Hana Bank, Upbit, Bithumb, and several payments companies to explore possible collaborations. As per The Korea Times, this represents a closed-door gathering that lands at the intersection of Korea's stablecoin legislation entering a decisive phase and dollar-stablecoin competition suddenly intensifying. The event carries notable weight as Circle's core strategy, policy, and business-development executives are converging on Seoul again, with the company's president publicly calling Korea a strategically important long-term market.
Circle's speaker lineup includes Chief Strategy Officer and Head of Global Policy and Operations Dante Disparte, Asia-Pacific Strategy and Policy Vice President David Allan Katz, Business Development Vice President Ben Morris, and Asia-Pacific Head Yam Ki Chan. Kakao Pay CEO Shin Won-keun and Bae, Kim & Lee partner Park Jong-baek are scheduled to speak on behalf of the Korean financial industry, according to the event registration page. During his April visit, Allaire described South Korea as a "highly attractive" market because of its advanced technology sector, active digital asset participation, and established legal framework. He also expressed interest in working with Korean companies through the Circle Payments Network for cross-border payments. According to The Korea Times, the event carries notable weight as Circle's core strategy, policy, and business-development executives are converging on Seoul again, with the company's president publicly calling Korea a strategically important long-term market.
The Seoul event follows significant recent partnership announcements by Circle. According to The Korea Herald, Circle signed partnerships with Dunamu (Upbit's operator) and Bithumb following Allaire's visit roughly three months ago. At a closed-door Seoul briefing on June 13, Allaire announced these partnerships and stated plainly that if Korean legislation ultimately opens the market to overseas issuers, Circle will establish a local subsidiary and operate with proper licenses. Circle's strategy cuts regulatory friction on two tracks: expanding USDC distribution through exchange partnerships with Dunamu and Bithumb, while providing infrastructure for Korean institutions' won-stablecoin projects. The company plans to focus on a technology-support partnership model rather than issuing a won stablecoin itself, as the CEO has said the Korean market is better suited to issuance led by local financial institutions.
The Seoul event coincides with significant infrastructure developments in South Korea's digital ecosystem. South Korean government and local agencies have signed an investment agreement with Dreamline to build a submarine cable landing station at the Saemangeum National Industrial Complex. The facility will support AUG East, an 8,900km international submarine cable system connecting Singapore, Indonesia, Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan, involving 11 companies and scheduled to enter service in the second half of 2029. The landing station will connect international submarine optical cables to domestic communications networks and data infrastructure, with construction scheduled to begin in January 2027 and commercial services planned to start in 2029. Saemangeum authorities said the project is expected to help strengthen the region's role in South Korea's digital infrastructure market, as Dreamline selected the Saemangeum National Industrial Complex as part of a plan to diversify the country's submarine cable infrastructure, which has historically been concentrated in the southeast.
The Korea expansion comes as competition among dollar-backed stablecoin issuers continues to increase. Circle shares fell 17% on June 30 after the launch of Open USD, a competing stablecoin model that allows participating companies to share income generated from reserve assets. The revenue-sharing structure differs from USDC's model, where Circle retains control over reserve income and partnership terms. Open USD's rollout has also faced questions over its announced consortium, with several South Korean companies including Samsung Electronics, Dunamu, Shinhan Financial Group, and K Bank saying they had not formally agreed to join the project despite being listed as participants. According to The Korea Times, competition is closing in as Tether executives have likewise been meeting heads of major Korean financial groups, while Kakao, Naver, Toss, and major bank consortia are running a six-way race toward won stablecoins. Korea represents a critical market opportunity with approximately 16 million people active in digital assets, roughly a third of the adult population, where USDC has at times accounted for 60% to 95% of trading on certain local venues. However, Korea's Digital Asset Basic Act remains contested in the National Assembly, with the central bank and the FSC still split over who may issue won stablecoins, and passage within 2026 is not guaranteed.
