Coupang Pay, the fintech arm of South Korean e-commerce giant Coupang, is actively recruiting in-house legal advisors specializing in stablecoins. The hire marks a significant escalation of the company’s digital asset ambitions.
The move positions Coupang as one of the most aggressive non-financial companies in Asia to bet on stablecoin infrastructure ahead of impending Korean legislation.
Legal team as a strategic unit
The company posted two simultaneous job openings on its careers page. One targets young lawyers within two years of qualifying. The other is looking for a senior or principal attorney with at least three years of relevant experience. Both publications list identical responsibilities in three areas: domestic fintech payments, regulation of stablecoins and virtual assets, and global payment partnerships.
The stablecoin-specific tasks are particularly detailed. Candidates will examine business structures for the issuance, use and distribution of stablecoins. They will also handle regulatory engagement with the Korean Financial Intelligence Unit and the Financial Services Commission. The senior role adds a telling requirement: the ability to “translate new regulatory areas into commercial opportunities.”
Coupang Pay has structured its legal team in explicitly strategic terms. The team is “designing new business models while maintaining regulatory compliance,” the company said in its publications. This language positions the legal function closer to a product strategy unit than a traditional compliance department.
Already inside the infrastructure
Listed on the New York Stock Exchange, Coupang operates in South Korea and Taiwan and regularly pays large sums to its American parent company.
Coupang is no stranger to stablecoin infrastructure. In the second half of 2024, the company joined Tempo, a layer 1 blockchain developed by Stripe as its first partner. Tempo is specially designed for stable payments. Partners including Visa, Deutsche Bank and Standard Chartered have been testing real-world on-chain payment environments since late last year.
The financial incentive is clear. Coupang reported revenue of around $33 billion last year. Assuming a 1% card fee rate, stablecoin adoption could save approximately $340 million per year. The costs of sending cross-border remittances to its US parent company further add to the pressure. Industry estimates put total annual savings at $155 million to $200 million, even after infrastructure costs.
Coupang is present in South Korea and Taiwan, where it also manages the luxury platform Farfetch. The job postings explicitly mention Coupang Taiwan, Farfetch and a “global integrated app” as targets of legal scrutiny of overseas payments. This suggests that stablecoin integration is planned well beyond Korean borders.
Favorable wind on the legislative level, headwind on the political level
The calendar corresponds to the Korean legislative calendar. South Korea’s ruling party and the National Assembly are actively discussing a regulatory framework for the issuance of KRW-backed stablecoins, although no legislation has been finalized. This would be the first time the domestic issuance of won-denominated stablecoins has been legally permitted in nearly nine years.
However, Coupang carries political baggage in this approach. The company faced significant backlash last year following a personal data leak incident. Its decision to conduct an internal “self-investigation” rather than fully cooperate with regulators has drawn sharp criticism. Industry observers note that these frictions could slow domestic regulatory approvals for new financial services.
The race for stablecoins in Korea is accelerating. Coupang seems determined not to be left behind.
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