FSC Chief Kim Says He Agrees With Letting Crypto Exchanges Enter Tokenized Securities Market

Kim Byoung-hwan, chairman of South Korea’s Financial Services Commission, said on October 22 that he agrees with the idea of allowing virtual asset exchanges to enter the tokenized securities, or STO, market.

Kim made the remarks during a comprehensive parliamentary audit by the National Assembly’s Political Affairs Committee on October 22, after Democratic Party lawmaker Lee Kang-il said authorities should review a plan to allow virtual asset exchanges to trade tokenized securities. Kim said he agrees with the intent.

He added that regulators would review options including integrating licensing categories or allowing concurrent operations, while taking into account market conditions and trends in investor protection.

Lee has argued that policymakers should consider using the technology and infrastructure already built by existing virtual asset exchanges as South Korea institutionalizes tokenized securities. The U.S. is moving toward allowing a range of trading platforms to enter the market under existing securities rules, Lee said.

There is no valid reason to restrict access to the tokenized securities market based on the type of exchange, he added.