Legislative Fast-Tracking and Strategic Design of Korea’s Digital Asset Market
South Korea’s Digital Asset Basic Act is regaining major momentum with the National Assembly aiming for passage in the second half of the year. As policymakers iron out corporate ownership caps to accelerate the framework, financial think tanks are urging authorities to benchmark Hong Kong’s regulatory model, shifting the stablecoin discourse from issuer identity to commercial viability and implementation.
Concrete Legislative Targets and Multilateral Policy Design
- Ownership Structuring and Accelerated Timeline: Assemblyman An Do-geol of the Democratic Party’s Digital Asset Task Force announced plans to pass the long-stalled Digital Asset Basic Act in the second half of the year. To optimize the ecosystem, the Financial Services Commission (FSC) is reviewing a framework where the banking sector collectively holds a 50%+1 majority stake, while allowing a single specialized tech firm to secure a guaranteed 34% stake to be recognized as the single largest shareholder. This move is interpreted as a practical measure to ensure innovation by technology providers.
- Expanding Public Discourse to Meet Global Standards: With the US, EU, and Japan rapidly modernizing their frameworks, calls are amplifying to fast-track Korea’s legislative process and finalize KRW-pegged stablecoin guidelines.
- Prioritizing Use-Case Viability over Issuer Status: The Korea Institute of Finance (KIF) stated that when designing the KRW stablecoin framework, regulators should prioritize commercial application and operational feasibility over debates on issuer eligibility, referencing Hong Kong’s regulatory approach. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) selects approved operators based not only on compliance capacity but also on their synergy with digital finance migration strategies and verifiable execution plans.
▶ Sources: Korea Economic Daily | PoliNews | iNews24
