South Korea Regulator Withholds Approval for Insurance Institute’s Token, AI Push

South Korea’s Financial Services Commission is withholding approval for new digital-asset businesses proposed by the Korea Insurance Training Institute, including token issuance.

According to government officials on April 23, the commission has yet to approve the institute’s application to amend its articles of incorporation, submitted in February. The proposed changes would add “issuance of educational tokens” and “establishment of and investment in an artificial intelligence subsidiary” to the institute’s charter.

The institute earlier this month made an additional request for approval of the amendment, according to the officials. It has been pushing the charter revision since early this year as it seeks to expand into digital assets, including by issuing educational tokens that could be used to pay tuition fees.

The commission believes the proposed charter changes could stray from the founding purpose of the institute, a nonprofit educational organization. As part of the review, the regulator recently asked the institute to submit supplemental materials, including legal advice.

An institute official said it pursued the charter revision as part of its response to digital assets, which have become an important issue for the insurance industry. The institute will work closely with financial authorities on the approval process, the official added.