Ruling party’s digital asset TF to accept compromise on equity caps, stablecoins… aims to finalize unified bill in early March

Meeting of the Digital Asset TF members and advisory panel

Signals room for compromise on “banks 50%+1” and exchange equity restrictions

“Speed over perfection”

“Goal is to introduce a unified bill in early March through party-government consultations”

The Democratic Party’s Digital Asset Task Force (TF), which has taken a hard line against financial regulators, plans to step back and craft a compromise proposal in early March. With legislative delays dragging on, the TF has concluded it is necessary to quickly fasten the first button.

On the 24th, Democratic Party lawmaker Ahn Do-geol, who serves as the TF’s secretary, told reporters after the “Digital Asset TF Members and Advisory Panel Meeting” that “we heard a range of views from advisory members on the TF bill and judged that some supplementation is needed,” adding, “we will reflect this, revise the bill for about a week, and work to prepare a unified proposal next month.”

The meeting was attended by TF members Lee Jeong-moon, Kang Jun-hyeon, Ahn Do-geol, Min Byeong-deok, Park Min-gyu, and Lee Kang-il, along with 17 advisory members.

During the process of drafting the unified proposal, the TF is expected to move toward a negotiated compromise—rather than its previous stance of absolute opposition—on key contentious issues: ▲the 50%+1 rule for bank equity ownership in stablecoin issuers ▲equity ownership restrictions for digital asset exchanges.

Ahn said, “On the two most contentious issues, advisory members conveyed industry views, and among some lawmakers there were opinions that some degree of compromise with the Financial Services Commission may be necessary,” adding, “we plan to work toward a framework led by the TF that both the industry and financial authorities can accept.”

This is seen as reflecting a growing consensus within the TF that legislative progress can no longer be postponed. Ahn stressed, “Building a perfect system is important, but right now timing matters, and that was the majority view,” adding, “digital asset legislation does not end here and can be supplemented through a three-stage legislative process, so it is important to take the first step by producing a realistically negotiable agreement.”

Lee Jeong-moon, a Democratic Party lawmaker who chairs the TF, also said, “There is a question of whether, as a legislative strategy, it is right to continue excluding the equity-cap rules for controlling shareholders that regulators argue for, or a bank-centered stablecoin issuance structure,” adding, “the bill will not pass simply because we draw a hard line with the Financial Services Commission and insist only on our position.” He added, “The compromise will not be a separate bill; it will be a way of incorporating parts of the government’s position and industry views into the existing TF plan.”

To that end, the Digital Asset TF plans to arrange consultations with the party’s policy committee and the Financial Services Commission sometime next week or the week after. Lee said, “The current TF plan is close to complete,” adding, “it is difficult to disclose the specific details of the compromise, but if mutual consultations are reached, I believe it will be possible to introduce the unified proposal in early March.”

The TF pushed back against concerns raised in some quarters about internal party divisions. Ahn said, “There are various routes for policy decision-making within the party, and the policy committee is the body that oversees all of them,” adding, “Policy Committee Chair Han Jeong-ae also asked the TF to prepare a compromise proposal.” He added, “It is not desirable for the government and the ruling party to appear to go separate ways. We believe it is better to produce a single unified plan rather than submit different proposals.”