South Korean financial heavyweight Mirae Asset Financial Group founder Hyeon-joo Park told employees on Thursday that the company plans to build a digital asset business worth 150 trillion Korean won (approximately $109 billion) around its newly acquired Digital X, formerly the Korbit exchange. The group currently manages around $1 trillion in assets.
During an internal event themed "New Journey, Set Sail Together," Park stated the group is committed to making Digital X profitable by 2027. He outlined four core business pillars: cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, real-world assets (RWA), and security token offerings (STO). The plan includes tokenizing physical assets such as gold, silver, and electricity to create an "on-chain finance" ecosystem.
Park indicated that the initial objective is to position Digital X as the central pillar of "Mirae Asset 3.0," leveraging the group's 1,500 trillion won (approximately $1.09 trillion) in client assets to drive the digital asset business toward the 150 trillion won target. Mirae Asset acquired a 97% stake in Korbit, founded in 2013, in July and subsequently renamed it Digital X.
Previously, Mirae Asset told CoinDesk that it aims to transform Korbit into an unprecedented "smart investment platform" in South Korea, seamlessly connecting knowledge, information, and deep investment insights. The vision includes building an investment ecosystem where RWA, STO, stablecoins, and digital assets are interconnected with traditional assets.
South Korea has roughly 11.3 million verified crypto users, with retail crypto trading volumes often rivaling those of the stock market. Holding a licensed exchange is therefore strategically valuable. Meanwhile, the country is advancing its Digital Asset Basic Act, which will cover a broad framework including stablecoins, virtual asset service provider licensing, and crypto exchange-traded funds.
The announcement comes as Shinhan Financial Group, one of South Korea's top five financial groups, also revealed a partnership with Visa. The collaboration aims to test core functions such as issuance, remittance, and redemption using Visa's stablecoin platform, while jointly designing business models tailored to the South Korean market. Mirae Asset did not respond to requests for comment on the matter.