South Korea’s largest financial groups are set to meet officials from Tether and Circle Internet (CRCL), issuers of the two largest stablecoins, as early as this week, .

In separate meetings, executives from Shinhan, Hana, KB Financial and Woori Bank will discuss potential partnerships on distributing and transacting with dollar-pegged stablecoins in the country, as well as explore the issuance of a stablecoin pegged to the won.

The moves come as President Lee Jae Myung’s pro-crypto administration pushes to establish a market for stablecoins, digital tokens whose value is pegged to a conventional asset, tied to the won, a key pledge from his election campaign. The Bank of Korea to issue a central bank digital currency (CBDC) in June following Lee's election earlier in the month. Upbit, one of the country's largest crypto exchanges, has already said it's on a stablecoin.

Shinhan CEO Jin Ok-dong and Hana CEO Ham Young-joo are scheduled to meet Circle President Heath Tarbert on Friday, and Ham is also expected to sit down with a Tether official later the same day. KB Financial’s chief digital & IT officer, Lee Chang-kwon, and Woori Bank President Jeong Jin-wan are reportedly arranging similar talks with Circle, whose USDC is the second-largest stablecoin, trailing Tether's USDT.

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