Seoul Auction-Seoul Auction Blue Accelerate STO Business... "Own Platform, Strengthen Cooperation with Financial Firms"

Seoul Auction announced on the 23rd that its affiliate Seoul Auction Blue will strengthen cooperation with financial institutions to accelerate its STO (Security Token Offering) business. Seoul Auction Blue, as an issuer of investment contract securities, owns its own platform and plans to enhance the platform in line with the legalization of STO.

Seoul Auction Blue has formed partnerships with major domestic securities firms such as Shinhan Investment Corp. and KB Securities to build linked systems related to account management institutions and is promoting its STO business. Seoul Auction Blue’s system features a structure where subscriptions are made through multiple securities firms when issuing investment contract securities, which offers the advantage of more stable transactions compared to platforms that directly manage subscriptions for STO issuance.

Following existing account management institutions, Seoul Auction Blue is currently in discussions for additional partnerships with domestic securities firms and multiple banks. Increasing the number of account management institutions will not only expand investor accessibility but also strengthen verification and management systems for STOs, thereby enhancing investor trust.

Based on the enhanced STO issuance infrastructure, Seoul Auction Blue plans to expand its STO business in the future. Earlier this year, Seoul Auction issued its first investment contract security with a work by American pop art pioneer Andy Warhol, achieving a subscription success rate of 87%. The company expects that by continuously expanding account management institutions, not only STO issuance but also trading will be revitalized.

With the recent renewed push for STO-related legalization, the STO market is expected to expand significantly. According to industry sources, amendments to the Capital Markets Act and the Electronic Securities Act are expected to be proposed within this month to legalize STOs. In response, the Korea Securities Depository has begun developing a testbed platform to take charge of securities issuance review and distribution quantity management in STOs, accelerating the establishment of investment systems.

A company official emphasized, “Seoul Auction Blue is building an STO platform with the highest level of safety in Korea through collaboration with major domestic and international traditional financial institutions during the preparation process of the STO business,” adding, “To enhance investment stability, simultaneous subscriptions will be conducted through multiple securities firms.”