FSC Activates Public-Private Consultative Group on Tokenized Securities; Begins Talks on Linking Stablecoin Payments

South Korea’s Financial Services Commission (FSC) has moved in earnest to institutionalize tokenized securities. Over the medium to long term, it has also put on-chain payment structures using stablecoins on the table for review.

On the 4th, the FSC held the first meeting of a public-private “Tokenized Securities Consultative Group” at the Government Complex Seoul, sharing the direction for institutional design and the tasks ahead. The group will operate through four subcommittees—technology and infrastructure, issuance, distribution, and settlement—while running a separate private-sector advisory panel in parallel to gather market feedback.

Tokenized securities are digital securities issued and managed using distributed-ledger technology and fall under “securities” as defined by the current Capital Markets Act. Amendments to the relevant law passed the National Assembly in January this year, and—after aligning subordinate regulations and building systems—are slated to take effect on Feb. 4, 2027.

In opening remarks, FSC Chairman Lee Eog-weon characterized tokenized securities as a structural change driving the convergence of capital markets and digital technology. He said the FSC would “also explore the potential for innovation in payment infrastructure in step with future discussions on the digital-asset framework.”

He noted in particular that some overseas markets are attempting to settle tokenized securities with stablecoins to enable 24-hour continuous trading and same-day settlement. Under this approach, both the securities and the payment instrument are processed on the same blockchain network, which can improve settlement efficiency. If such a model is introduced, it could allow funds to be secured on the trade date rather than under the current structure in which proceeds are finalized two days after a sale.

The FSC said it will design the infrastructure with an eye to consistency with discussions on introducing a stablecoin framework—meaning it aims to ensure linkage with digital-asset bills that will be taken up by the National Assembly.

The regulator also signaled plans to support new forms of investment by diversifying underlying assets. With an expansion of products that tokenize real-economy assets—such as revenue rights to cultural content or profit-sharing structures for agriculture and livestock projects—in mind, it plans to overhaul the issuance, distribution and disclosure frameworks.

Investor-protection arrangements are also slated for revision. Rather than applying existing capital-market regulations as-is, the FSC will review measures aimed at establishing safeguards tailored to token structures and trading methods.

The FSC plans to finalize the broad framework for institutional design in the first half of the year and continue discussions on detailed issues through the law’s effective date.