Chainlink has formed a strategic partnership with LG CNS, the IT services and artificial intelligence transformation arm of South Korean conglomerate LG Group, under an agreement announced on October 22.

The collaboration will focus on expanding the use and distribution of stablecoins pegged to the Korean won, according to the joint announcement. The two companies also plan to build infrastructure for South Korea's cryptocurrency market, which the announcement valued at $68 billion, and it noted that the country's stablecoin market has more than 11 million eligible users. Stablecoins are digital tokens designed to hold a steady value, typically pegged to a national currency such as the won. The announcement positions the partnership within South Korea's broader push to modernize its financial infrastructure with blockchain-based tools.

What the Partnership Includes

Under the agreement, LG CNS will integrate Chainlink's cross-chain, data, and orchestration infrastructure into its Digital Asset Platform Solution, a platform built for Korean financial institutions seeking regulated blockchain tools.

Chainlink operates a decentralized oracle network that connects smart contracts on blockchains with real-world data and external systems. Its technology enables otherwise separate blockchain networks to communicate with one another and coordinates transactions across platforms. The two companies plan to apply these tools to moving tokenized money between systems that would otherwise not be able to interoperate. That capability is directly relevant to currency-pegged tokens, which must reliably track the value of their reference currency across every system where they circulate.

The firms will also cooperate on technical standards, combining their respective expertise to help advance South Korea's digital asset framework.

“Korea's financial infrastructure is entering the tokenization era,” said Hongkeun Kim, executive vice president and head of LG CNS's Digital Business Division. According to the announcement, Kim said the partnership aims to grow Korea's tokenized securities market and create a foundation for global expansion.

LG CNS and South Korea's Stablecoin Rules

LG CNS serves as the lead contractor for Project Hangang, the Bank of Korea's digital currency initiative, handling development, operations, and infrastructure for the program. The first phase of Project Hangang involved roughly 80,000 customers across seven Korean banks, giving LG CNS direct, hands-on experience operating digital payment systems at scale.

LG Group holds approximately 186 trillion won ($140.5 billion) in assets across 63 affiliates, and its subsidiaries have a combined market value of more than $100 billion.

South Korea does not yet have a clear legal basis for issuing and trading stablecoins tied to the won. Lawmakers and the government are working on the Digital Asset Basic Act, which would establish rules for the issuance of won-denominated stablecoins and other digital assets. For the partnership, that legislation is the missing piece: until a clear legal basis exists, won-pegged stablecoins cannot move from infrastructure plans to issuance, making the bill's progress a key milestone to watch for the collaboration. South Korea is Asia's second-largest crypto market, and the Korean won ranks behind only the U.S. dollar in global crypto trading volume.

Chainlink already works with a number of major financial firms, including Swift, Euroclear, Mastercard, and UBS — ties that give the oracle network an established presence among large traditional financial organizations. The pairing thus connects a contractor embedded in the central bank's digital currency program with a network already established among major traditional financial organizations, positioning the collaboration at the intersection of Korea's public digital currency work and mainstream global finance.

The announcement did not include financial terms, named customers, or a target date for commercial launch, and it did not confirm that Chainlink's technology will be used directly in Project Hangang.