FSC holds first virtual asset panel meeting of the year… government draft of Digital Asset Framework Act taking shape

A government draft of the Digital Asset Framework Act—phase-two legislation for virtual (digital) assets—is expected to be released soon.

On the 4th, the Financial Services Commission (FSC) said it held its first Virtual Asset Committee meeting of the year at the Government Complex Seoul, chaired by FSC Vice Chairman Kwon Dae-young, and discussed key items in the government’s review draft of the Digital Asset Framework Act. The meeting was attended by relevant ministries and agencies—including the Ministry of Science and ICT, the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Ministry of Justice, and the Financial Supervisory Service—as well as private-sector experts.

The industry views the meeting as effectively a step toward finalizing the government draft.

Members pointed out that the term “virtual asset” in the current Virtual Asset User Protection Act should be aligned with global standards and that a regulatory framework for digital-asset business operators should be established to accommodate diverse business models.

They also stressed the need to introduce safeguards to bolster market trust and transparency, including setting internal control standards and IT/security standards for exchanges and imposing strict liability for damages regardless of fault.

Key issues were also discussed, such as a bank-led (equity stake of 50%+1) structure for issuing stablecoins and measures to introduce ownership-dispersion requirements for virtual-asset exchanges.

Based on the discussions, the FSC plans to push improvements to self-regulation—such as internal control standards by the Digital Asset Exchange Alliance (DAXA)—and continue ruling party-government consultations toward enacting the Digital Asset Framework Act.

The committee also discussed developments and follow-up measures related to last month’s “misdelivery of virtual assets” incident on the 6th.

It agreed to use an emergency response task force formed by the FSC, the Korea Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), the FSS, and DAXA to encourage sufficient compensation for user losses. It also concluded that exchange internal controls and risk-management systems should, for now, be improved through self-regulation.

Shin Min-kyung, Hankyung.com reporter radio@hankyung.com