Mirae Asset Urges South Korea to Scrap Finance-Crypto Split, Ease Tokenized Securities Rules

Mirae Asset Securities said South Korea should scrap regulations separating finance and virtual assets if it wants blockchain technology to drive innovation in the financial industry.

Lee Yong-jae, head of the Digital Asset Industry Division at Mirae Asset Securities, made the remarks at a seminar held at the National Assembly Members' Office Building in Seoul's Yeouido district on June 22 titled "Global Trends in Digital Asset Regulation and South Korea's Legislative Direction."

"The policy of separating finance and virtual assets should be abolished," Lee said.

He said overseas markets are moving in the opposite direction, toward integrating finance and virtual assets. Removing the regulations would allow large financial firms to begin full-scale collaboration with Web3 and digital-asset startups. Scrapping the separation principle is also necessary to foster the digital-asset industry more broadly, he added.

Lee also called for easing rules on tokenized securities, or STOs. "There is no need to limit the types of securities that can be tokenized," he said, adding that the aim is to improve already well-functioning areas by tokenizing standardized securities such as stocks.

He said South Korea should establish tokenized-securities processes suited to local conditions, drawing on overseas examples involving bonds and money market funds.

Lee also offered suggestions on future legal reforms. "If blockchain is forced into use simply by incorporating it into the existing Capital Markets Act, it would be better not to do it at all," he said. He added that other countries are moving toward institutionalization by resolving such issues one by one.

"The essence of the financial innovation we now face is that core infrastructure is shifting from the internet to blockchain," Lee said. Innovation will require active cooperation between the public and private sectors, he added.