KakaoPay CEO Shin Won-keun Says Stablecoins, AI Key to Future Finance at EastPoint: Seoul 2026

Era of Financial Transactions Between AI Agents

'South Korea Must Not Fall Further Behind' on Change

KakaoPay is accelerating efforts to build future financial infrastructure combining stablecoins and artificial intelligence. The company said it plans to compete more aggressively in global finance as on-chain finance converges with AI agents.

Chief Executive Officer Shin Won-keun laid out that vision in a keynote speech on Sept. 28 at the global Web3 private conference EastPoint: Seoul 2026, held at the Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas in Samseong-dong, Seoul. He identified the softwareization of money, the tokenization of assets and the integration of on-chain financial networks as the key shifts shaping future finance.

Shin presented stablecoin networks as an alternative to the complexity of existing financial systems. South Korea has a fast and secure financial network, he said, but it is expensive to operate multiple networks separated by use case. That complexity becomes even greater in cross-border transactions.

In a stablecoin-based on-chain network, funds and assets, as well as the rights and obligations tied to transactions, can be handled on a single network, he said. In other words, payments, settlement and asset transfers, which are split across different parts of the current financial system, could be linked through one blockchain-based network.

He said AI is set to accelerate that shift in financial infrastructure. Until now, humans have judged and executed financial transactions, but AI agents could eventually handle not only payments but also more complex financial services such as lending and insurance.

Shin also said the combination of AI and on-chain finance could give rise to round-the-clock financial services and a new economic ecosystem in which AI agents transact directly with one another.

He introduced KakaoPay's recently launched financial assistant service, AI Coach. The service analyzes users' financial information and provides personalized advice aimed at more rational spending. It does not currently recommend specific financial products or execute transactions directly, but the scope of AI-agent financial services could expand once related regulations are put in place.

Shin stressed that building future financial infrastructure will require cooperation across the broader financial ecosystem, beyond technology development by individual companies. That includes on-chain networks where stablecoins circulate, compliance and trust frameworks to support the movement of digital assets, and financial companies responsible for real-world distribution and use.

"Global financial firms are competing fiercely to take the lead in future financial infrastructure, but it is unfortunate that Korean companies are not visibly present in that process," Shin said. "We must not fall further behind." He added that someone must act as a catalyst to accelerate the change and that KakaoPay intends to take on that role.

Bae Tae-woong, Korea Economic Daily reporter / Lee Soo-hyun, Bloomingbit reporter