Seoul Fintech Week
Seoul Fintech Week is a fintech event program held in Seoul, South Korea, featuring conferences and forums on financial technology and digital finance. Its 2025 program included three in-person events, while the 2026 edition featured a keynote on stablecoins, artificial intelligence (AI) agents, and digital-asset regulation.[1][2]
2025 Program
The Seoul Fintech Week 2025 Conference took place on September 29, 2025, from 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at the Park Ballroom on the fifth floor of Conrad Seoul. Two events followed on October 1 at The Forum on the third floor of Two IFC: Open Talk, scheduled from 11:00 a.m. to noon, and the Seoul Digital Finance Future Forum, from 1:30 to 5:00 p.m.[1]
All three events were listed as being broadcast live, with an option to view them online.[1]
2026 Edition
Seoul Fintech Week 2026 was held at Conrad Seoul in Yeouido on October 26, 2026.
Kakao Pay chief executive Shin Won-keun delivered a keynote calling for faster regulatory preparation for stablecoins, tokenization, digital assets, and financial services based on AI agents.[2]
AI Agents and Payments
Shin argued that AI agents would need payment infrastructure, reliable systems, and clearer rules before they could participate in financial transactions. He presented stablecoins as a possible way to handle small, frequent payments that can be costly over existing card or bank networks, including automated payments of a few won to several dozen won and cross-border transactions.[2]
As an example of agent-based payment, Shin cited x402, a payment protocol led by Coinbase. In the described model, an AI agent pays for a service in stablecoins, and the provider verifies payment before delivering information. Kakao Pay joined the x402 Foundation, launched in April 2026, as its only founding member from South Korea and was cooperating on global payment standards.[2]
Stablecoin Projects and Regulation
Kakao Pay was conducting technology verification for a won-denominated stablecoin business. In September 2026, it completed a proof of concept integrating blockchain-based asset-management functions into the Kakao Pay Money wallet, and tested stablecoin issuance, redemption, and overseas-payment technology with KB Kookmin Bank. Kakao Group was also expanding cooperation with the digital-asset companies Circle and Fireblocks.[2]
Shin said that South Korea’s Digital Asset Basic Act was needed to introduce a won-denominated stablecoin, but it remained pending in the National Assembly. Disagreement between financial authorities and the Bank of Korea over which institutions could issue such a stablecoin left the timing of commercialization uncertain.[2]
He also called for security measures and a liability framework for AI-agent financial transactions, including safeguards against transactions exceeding a user’s authorization and clear responsibility for accidents. He advocated introducing regulations in stages according to agents’ roles and risk levels.[2]
