South Korea’s Democratic Party to Renew Push for Digital Asset Basic Act in Second Half

South Korea’s Democratic Party plans to renew its push in the second half of the year for the Digital Asset Basic Act, a bill regarded as the second stage of the country’s virtual-asset legislation. With the June 3 local elections now over, attention is turning to whether stalled talks on formalizing the crypto market will restart.

The Democratic Party plans to revive the legislation in the second half, Financial News reported on June 15.

The Digital Asset Basic Act is considered follow-up legislation to the Virtual Asset User Protection Act. It would broadly reshape market structure, rules for service providers, and systems for token issuance and distribution. Political discussions in South Korea have continued since the second half of last year, but differences between lawmakers and financial authorities over specific issues have kept the bill from being formally introduced.

Earlier this year, some lawmakers also sought to prepare the bill within the first half. But substantive National Assembly discussions have been halted since February. The local election schedule pushed major legislative business until after the vote.

A restart in talks could still take time. The Democratic Party’s digital asset task force, which had led the legislative discussions, was disbanded recently after the floor leader’s term ended. It has not been decided whether the party will reestablish the task force in the second half.

The National Assembly’s Political Affairs Committee, the standing committee in charge of the bill, is also awaiting its new composition for the second half of the 22nd National Assembly. The first-half term of the 22nd National Assembly ended on May 29, and the ruling and opposition parties are negotiating the makeup of standing committees for the next session.

Even after the committee is formed, further coordination on detailed issues will be needed. If lawmakers who have led discussions on the Digital Asset Basic Act since last year leave the Political Affairs Committee in the second half, consultations with financial authorities could also take more time.

Industry participants have continued to call for faster second-stage legislation, saying major economies are moving quickly to build crypto regulatory frameworks. Attention is now on whether the National Assembly will begin full-scale deliberations on the Digital Asset Basic Act in the second half.