Korea Investment & Securities Signs Token Securities Business Agreement with Abitus Associates

Korea Financial Group subsidiary Korea Investment & Securities announced on the 31st that it has signed a business agreement with Artue operator Abitus Associates for the issuance of token securities (STO).

Through this agreement, the two companies agreed to mutually cooperate to supply investment contract securities backed by artworks as underlying assets. They plan to actively promote asset securitization of high-quality artworks by combining Korea Investment & Securities' issuance infrastructure with Abitus Associates' proven service capabilities in the art market.

Abitus Associates is promoting the digital transformation of art exhibition and brokerage methods based on data capabilities by connecting artists, collectors, dealers, and galleries through its own platform, facilitating easy transactions among stakeholders.

Kim Gwansik, Head of Digital Innovation Division at Korea Investment & Securities, said, "We expect the art market, which was previously enjoyed by a limited number of people, to expand into a market where many customers can participate by utilizing token securities. As the token securities ecosystem has begun to take off this year, we will make every preparation to enable customers to invest safely and conveniently in diverse products."

Meanwhile, the token securities consortium "Korea Investment ST Friends," established last year by Korea Investment & Securities in partnership with KakaoBank, Toss Bank, and others, includes leading companies such as "PIECE," a physical fractional investment platform operated by BySellStandard, the cultural content investment platform "Funderful," the land and building transaction platform "ValueMap," and the unlisted stock trading platform "SeoulGorae."

Korea Investment & Securities built the first token securities issuance infrastructure in the securities industry and completed a pilot issuance in September last year.