Democratic Party to Reorganize Digital Asset Task Force in September, Lawmaker Says

Park Min-kyu of the Democratic Party said on July 15 that the party's digital asset task force will likely be reorganized around September.

Park made the remarks during a panel discussion at a seminar titled “The US Strategy for Digital Asset Dominance and Korea’s Response” at Hotel Naru Seoul MGallery in Seoul.

The session was moderated by Yoo Shin-jae, chief executive officer of D.Asset, and included Park and fellow Democratic Party lawmaker Min Byung-deok, who visited the US last month. Earlier, Min, Park and Kang Min-kuk traveled to Washington and New York, where they met officials from the White House, the Senate, the House of Representatives, the US Securities and Exchange Commission and the New York Stock Exchange.

The visit confirmed that the US is channeling strategic focus and energy into a digital-asset ecosystem built around stablecoins, Park said. It was also clear that Washington intends to preserve dollar dominance through digital assets, particularly stablecoins.

He said he was also struck by the close coordination between the White House, regulators and private companies. White House staff handling digital-asset issues were acting as quarterbacks coordinating across government agencies. Regulators, meanwhile, were focused on hearing what companies wanted to do and on building rules and frameworks that would allow them to do so safely.

On the domestic legislative schedule, Park said the Democratic Party's digital asset task force may be restructured. Existing members could stay on, while others may be added or removed. The party's floor leadership and policy committee chair will decide the task force's composition.

He added that the policy committee chair is appointed by the new party leader after the party convention. That means the task force is expected to resume work after the policy chief is named in late August. Discussions among the task force, expert advisers, the presidential office and relevant ministries in August and September will determine how and when to propose the Basic Digital Asset Act.

Park also cited comments by Min on a possible delay in passage of the US Clarity Act. A slower US timetable could give South Korea an opportunity to speed up its own framework, he said. Rather than viewing the delay simply as a setback, South Korea should use the window to prepare the Basic Digital Asset Act and related follow-up legislation at the same time.