Chainlink & LG CNS strike South Korea digital deal

Chainlink has entered a strategic partnership with LG CNS in South Korea focused on digital asset infrastructure for the country's regulated market.

The companies will develop digital asset platform solutions for Korean institutions, integrating Chainlink's tools into LG CNS's stablecoin and tokenised-asset projects. Their collaboration will also cover technical standards for Korea's digital asset economy.

South Korea is a major crypto trading market in Asia. The companies valued the domestic digital asset market at USD $68 billion and said more than 11 million users are eligible for Korean stablecoin services, highlighting the scale of the opportunity for financial institutions and infrastructure providers.

LG CNS holds a prominent position in the country's financial technology sector. Part of LG Group, it serves as lead contractor for the Bank of Korea's Project Hangang, the central bank digital currency initiative.

The programme's first phase involved about 80,000 customers across seven Korean banks. LG CNS is now integrating Chainlink's oracle infrastructure into its digital asset platform as it expands its work on institutional digital currency systems.

The partnership centres on three areas: oracle infrastructure for LG CNS's digital asset platform, including connectivity across blockchain networks and institutional systems; joint work on technical standards for Korea's digital asset framework; and the development of solutions for Korean institutions using standards tied to oracle services, interoperability, and cross-chain transactions.

For Chainlink, the deal adds another institutional relationship in financial market infrastructure, where it has sought to position its technology around data delivery and communication between blockchain-based and conventional systems. For LG CNS, it links a domestic systems integrator with an international digital asset infrastructure provider as Korean policymakers and financial groups examine tokenised forms of money and securities.

Executives at both companies cast the agreement as part of a broader shift in Korea's financial system.

"Korea is one of the most active and technologically advanced digital asset markets in the world, and LG CNS is at the core of its financial infrastructure evolution. By combining LG CNS's institutional expertise with Chainlink's technology standards, this partnership establishes the foundation for compliant digital asset infrastructure in Korea. Together, LG and Chainlink are providing Korean institutions with a secure and reliable foundation for moving tokenized money across systems and networks," said Johann Eid, Chief Business Officer, Chainlink Labs.

LG CNS described tokenisation as a new stage in the country's financial infrastructure, focused on securities as well as payment-related uses.

"Korea's financial infrastructure is entering the tokenization era. LG CNS is committed to leading this transition, and together with Chainlink, we aim to accelerate the growth of Korea's tokenized securities market by enabling secure interoperability and real-world data, while creating a foundation for global expansion," said Hongkeun Kim, Executive Vice President and Head of Digital Business Division, LG CNS.

The alliance comes as South Korea continues to shape its approach to regulated digital assets, including stablecoins and tokenised financial products. Market participants have increasingly focused on the infrastructure needed to connect blockchains with bank systems, payment rails and external data sources, particularly as digital assets move closer to mainstream financial use.

In that context, LG CNS's role in Project Hangang adds relevance to the partnership. The company is already involved in building and operating infrastructure for the Bank of Korea's digital currency work, and the addition of Chainlink's technology suggests an effort to broaden the range of systems that can interact with those platforms.

According to figures cited by the companies, parent conglomerate LG Group has ₩186 trillion in assets across 63 affiliates, with a combined market capitalisation of more than USD $100 billion across subsidiaries. That scale gives LG CNS a strong industrial base as it expands into digital finance infrastructure.

The Korean won has also consistently ranked second in global crypto trading volume after the US dollar, according to data cited by the companies, making South Korea one of the largest centres for digital asset activity.