South Korea’s KT enters won stablecoin race with Token Factory initiative

South Korea’s largest telecommunications company KT has announced plans to invest 18 trillion won ($13.2 billion) over the next three years, including 6 trillion won for AI infrastructure and 12 trillion won for networks, IT, and cybersecurity, while expanding into tokenisation services and won-based stablecoin infrastructure.

South Korean technology publication Digital Daily reported that the investment plan was unveiled by KT Chief Executive Park Yoon-young during his first press briefing since taking office. The company said it will combine upgrades to its core telecom business with new digital finance and blockchain initiatives as part of its long-term growth strategy.

Token Factory and stablecoin plans

A significant part of the programme will focus on digital asset infrastructure. KT said it plans to build a “Token Factory” capable of supporting token creation, brokerage, and billing by combining a planned 1GW artificial intelligence data centre network with a token optimisation engine and its existing billing technology.

Alongside the token platform, KT also plans to enter the stablecoin-based digital finance market. The company said it intends to combine the customer base of K Bank, which has around 16 million users, BC Card’s network of 3.5 million merchants, and KT’s communications and security infrastructure to support the full stablecoin lifecycle, including issuance, custody, settlement, and real-world payments.

Elsewhere in the investment programme, KT said it will allocate around 5 trillion won to build additional AI data centre capacity based on customer demand, expanding its total capacity to 1GW. Another 1 trillion won will be invested in submarine cables to increase international network capacity by more than 90Tbps while linking central AI data centres with edge computing facilities to support low-latency AI services.

The company also committed approximately 12 trillion won to strengthen its telecom infrastructure over the next three years. 

According to Digital Daily, about 4 trillion won will be spent on cybersecurity and IT systems, double the level of the previous three-year period. KT said it will adopt a zero-trust security model, separate the roles of chief information security officer and chief privacy officer, recruit external specialists, and double the size of its cybersecurity workforce. The remaining 8 trillion won will fund network technologies including 6G, satellite communications, and data centre interconnection.

Partnerships will also expand beyond KT’s existing collaboration with Microsoft. The company said it plans to work with global AI firms including Google and Palantir, while extending cooperation with South Korean companies such as Upstage, Rebellions, and Saltlux.

KT’s stablecoin announcement comes as South Korea’s financial and technology sectors continue accelerating blockchain payment projects. 

Earlier this week, the K-STAR consortium and BNK Busan Bank completed a proof of concept for a blockchain-based digital local currency that processed payments and settlements in under one second with a reported 100% transaction success rate. The consortium said the same infrastructure could later support government subsidies, central bank digital currency services, and South Korean won-backed stablecoins.

The latest developments follow President Lee Jae-myung’s pledge in June to allow companies to issue won-backed stablecoins, prompting banks and technology companies to expand blockchain payment initiatives as the country prepares new digital asset legislation.