Ripple has expanded its South Korean institutional network into the securities industry through a new partnership with Meritz Securities focused on digital-asset custody and blockchain-based tokenisation.
Announced on 14 October, the agreement makes Meritz Securities Ripple’s fourth Korean institutional partner this year and its first in the brokerage sector. The collaboration will examine how Ripple Custody and related tools can be used to represent financial assets on blockchain networks, as well as store, transfer and settle them securely.
The partnership extends Ripple’s activity in South Korea beyond cross-border payments and bank-managed digital asset wallets. Meritz is expected to assess the platform within its existing securities operations and under current regulations before considering a wider range of services as the country’s regulatory framework develops.
Meritz Securities’ managing director of the Strategic Planning Unit, Byungha Kang, is involved in setting the partnership’s direction. The company’s areas of interest include spot exchange-traded funds, fractional investments, security tokens, trading platforms and won-denominated stablecoins.
Ripple’s other Korean partnerships cover separate parts of the financial system. Its work with Kyobo Life Insurance is examining whether government bonds can be held, transferred and settled using blockchain technology. The project is assessing the technical and regulatory feasibility of tokenised government debt, with the aim of replacing manual procedures with on-chain processing and enabling near-real-time settlement.
Internet-only bank Kbank is using Ripple Custody to develop institutional digital asset wallets. The system is intended to support wallet creation, transaction authorisation and asset management across blockchain networks within a regulated banking environment. Its built-in security controls are designed to reduce the need for Kbank to build and maintain its own infrastructure.
Ripple Payments is being used by Jeonbuk Bank for cross-border remittances. Announced on 18 August, the project made Jeonbuk Bank the first regional bank in South Korea to deploy the platform. Ripple says the service can settle transactions in seconds to minutes, operates around the clock and can support businesses such as import-export companies, technology start-ups and online content creators.
Fiona Murray, Ripple’s managing director for Asia Pacific, said the company’s offering covers payments, custody and tokenisation. She cited more than 85 licences and operations across more than 60 markets worldwide, placing the Korean partnerships within Ripple’s broader international business.
Tokenisation allows blockchain-based records to represent ownership or other rights linked to an underlying asset, while custody systems provide controls for storing and transferring those assets.
South Korea’s Financial Services Commission proposed rules for the issuance and circulation of tokenised securities on 1 October. The proposals cover stocks, bonds, funds and fractional investment securities, and would implement changes under revised securities and electronic registration laws taking effect on 4 February 2027. Public comments are open until 11 November before the proposals move through the approval process.
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