Open USD partner list faces scrutiny after Korean firms question inclusion

Open USD’s partner list is facing fresh scrutiny after a Korean media report said several companies named in the stablecoin consortium had not held formal consultations with Open Standard before appearing as participants.

Chosun Biz reported that Samsung Electronics, Dunamu, Shinhan Financial Group, and K Bank were among the Korean firms that said their involvement had not been formally agreed to.

They are raising questions over how some companies were presented in Open USD’s launch materials.

Korean firms question consortium listing

According to Chosun Biz, Samsung Electronics said there had been no official consultation with Open Standard. Also, it did not know what role it would play in the consortium.

The report also said Dunamu, Shinhan Financial Group, and KBank were asked whether they were interested in participating in Open USD.

However, they only indicated they would review the matter. Their names were later included among the consortium’s participants, according to the report.

One unnamed company official quoted by Chosun Biz said the company learned of its inclusion through domestic media reports and had merely told Open Standard it would consider participation if the project progressed.

Open USD launched with 140 listed partners

Open Standard unveiled Open USD on June 30, describing it as a shared stablecoin for global money movement. Also, it’s backed by more than 140 businesses across payments, banking, technology, and crypto.

The original announcement named major companies, including Visa, Mastercard, BlackRock, Google, Samsung Electronics, Dunamu, Coinbase, Stripe, Bybit, and several Korean financial institutions, as participants in the initiative.

The breadth of that coalition was central to Open USD’s positioning as a consortium-backed alternative to issuer-led stablecoin models such as USDC and USDT.

Open USD is designed to offer free minting and redemption, shared-reserve economics, and collaborative governance through the Open Standard. However, the Chosun Biz report suggests that some listed firms may have viewed their involvement as preliminary rather than as a formal commitment.

Neither Open Standard nor the Korean companies cited in the report had issued separate public statements at the time of writing.

Final Summary

• Chosun Biz reported that Samsung Electronics and some others had not formally agreed to participate in Open USD despite being listed among the consortium’s partners.
• The report raises questions over how Open Standard presented parts of its 140-company partner list, which was central to Open USD’s launch narrative.