KONA I has changed the public transit payment structure with transit cards and energized small-business economies with local currencies. Now we will build an ecosystem with Blockchain where local residents become the protagonists of the economy.
Chairman Jo Jeong-il of KONA I stated accordingly that after the enactment of the Digital Asset Basic Act (phase-two virtual asset law), the company will introduce a won-based stablecoin tailored for user convenience. KONA I, a Fintech corporations founded in 1998, was the first to develop a transit card integrating buses and subways. It later shifted to the smart card business and now exports products to 90 countries, ranking fourth in the global payment card market share. It listed on KOSDAQ in 2001.
In 2018, it introduced an integrated circuit (IC) card-type local gift certificate platform and now runs local currencies for more than 60 local governments nationwide, including Gyeonggi local currency, Incheon e-Eum, and Busan Dongbaekjeon. Users can top up and use benefits through each local government's application (app) or a dedicated app. In the same year, it also entered the metal card market and now holds second place in global market share.
Currently, it is developing a service where security tokens (STO) and stablecoins operate together within the local currency app. After graduating from the Department of Physics at Sungkyunkwan University, Chairman Jo joined the Daewoo Telecommunications General Research Institute in 1986 as a senior researcher and served as a principal researcher at the Korea Information & Communication Technology Research Institute in 1994. Jo also concurrently serves as chair of the Software Mutual Aid Association. The following is a Q&A with Chairman Jo.
─ You will showcase stablecoin technology at an expo at the end of the month.
At the end of the month, at a large-scale money management expo, we will hold the nation's first live demonstration stage where thousands of general participants can experience it directly. We plan to unveil our proprietary technologies accumulated while operating local currency platforms for more than 60 local governments nationwide, including real-world payment infrastructure capabilities, decentralized identity (DID), and our own Blockchain infrastructure, "Konachain."
What makes this demonstration important is that it is not just about showing technology but about giving ordinary consumers their first real-life experience with Web3 payments. We plan to prove the potential of Web3 payments at an actual transaction site this time. It is the first official stage where a Blockchain economic platform takes shape as a real service.
─ What is the direction of the stablecoin business after the Digital Asset Basic Act is enacted?
KONA I does not wait for the law to be enacted. In Jul. last year, at the Korea Financial Investment Association, we completed the nation's first live demonstration of a stablecoin. KONA I was the first to implement stablecoin payments via existing card terminals. Through our self-built block explorer "Konascan," we disclosed all transaction details in real time with transparency. Before the demonstration, we had already filed trademarks for stablecoins by key currencies.
KONA I does not need to be the direct issuer of a stablecoin. As with local currencies, local governments can be the issuers, and KONA I can provide the issuance environment and operate the platform to jointly run the local currency platform. Because it is won-based and usable only within the locality, there is no risk such as capital outflow, making it a safe model from a regulatory standpoint.
─ You are also collaborating with Bookook Securities on security token offerings (STOs).
While operating local currencies, we realized that local governments own many idle sites or assets with development potential. But if, in the process of developing them, the revenue structure tilts to one side, it inevitably raises allegations of preferential treatment. At that point, we thought, "Could we change this structure with the transparency of Blockchain?" The reason disputes over favoritism arise is opacity, and Blockchain can resolve that opacity.
When Bookook Securities discovers idle sites or renewable energy projects owned by local governments and designs project financing (PF), KONA I takes on the role of "issuer account management institution" and provides a distributed-ledger-based security token issuance and distribution platform. Local residents can invest small amounts in these projects, and the revenue is returned in local currency, which they can spend again at local small businesses.
─ What are the new STO and stablecoin businesses linked to local currencies?
We are developing a service that connects STOs and stablecoins simultaneously when local residents open the KONA I local currency app. If a purchase is made with a stablecoin at a small business, users can receive incentives, and they can also make small investments via STOs in local solar power plants or development projects. The revenue generated from those projects can be paid out as dividends in local currency and used again within the region. It is a method where consumption, investment, and revenue circulate within a single app.
We plan to sequentially connect each stage to complete a closed-loop Blockchain economic platform in step with the completion of institutional arrangements such as the legalization of stablecoins and STOs. When this model operates, local residents can become not only consumers but also investors and revenue dividend recipients in the local economy.
─ What are KONA I's future goals?
KONA I is at an important inflection point. On top of a proven business base—No. 4 in the global smart card market, No. 2 in global metal cards, and the No. 1 local currency platform nationwide—new growth engines called stablecoins and STOs are being added. The moment is approaching when KONA I's three growth engines align at once: the global growth of metal cards, the institutional stabilization of local currencies, and the legalization trend of stablecoins and STOs.
The value KONA I has pursued for 28 years is that technology should be used in ways that benefit the world. Spending in the neighborhood where we live, having that spending become investment, and having it return to our neighborhood—this philosophy, that "everyone becomes the protagonist of the economy," is why we run KONA I.