Push to legislate won-denominated stablecoins by March… closed-door ruling-party–government talks set for the 20th

Efforts to enact legislation to institutionalize won-pegged stablecoins are under way, with March targeted for completion.

According to the industry, the government and the Democratic Party of Korea will hold closed-door ruling-party–government consultations on the 20th and move to finalize coordination on the Framework Act on Digital Assets (the second-phase virtual-asset bill), including provisions on won stablecoins.

The core issue in current discussions is who will be permitted to issue won stablecoins. Financial authorities are reviewing a plan to grant initial issuance rights to a consortium in which banks hold at least 50% of the equity plus one share. The Democratic Party’s Digital Assets Task Force has maintained its opposition to a bank-centered structure.

Issuers would be subject to an approval system to assess capital requirements and would be required to maintain reserve assets of at least 100% of the amount issued. After the legislation is enacted, the government also plans to overhaul rules to regulate cross-border stablecoin transfers and trading.

Virtual-asset investment by listed companies and professional investment firms will be allowed within this year. Annual investment limits will be capped at within 5% of shareholders’ equity, and eligible investments will be limited to the top 20 tokens by market capitalization based on major domestic exchanges.

The government will also expand the use of central bank digital currency (CBDC) for treasury cash management. In the first half of this year, it plans to pilot a CBDC-based deposit token in projects to build EV charging infrastructure.