Lee Kang-il Says Government to Submit Digital Asset Basic Act in November, Push for December Passage

South Korea’s government plans to submit its Digital Asset Basic Act bill to the National Assembly this month, while the Democratic Party will seek to pass it by year-end.

Lee Kang-il, a Democratic Party lawmaker on the National Assembly’s Political Affairs Committee, made the remarks at a forum at the National Assembly Library on November 2, Edaily reported.

“The Financial Services Commission says it will provide the government bill in November,” Lee said. “We will try to get it passed by December.”

The Digital Asset Basic Act is a second-phase bill meant to regulate the broader virtual-asset market, including issuance, distribution, disclosure and listing. Discussions are continuing over issues such as limits on major shareholders’ stakes in crypto exchanges and who should be allowed to issue won-based stablecoins.

Lee said debate over the bill has moved more slowly than expected because of resistance from the traditional financial industry, expressing regret over the legislative delay.

He also stressed that South Korea needs to move quickly to establish a legal framework, particularly as the Genius Act, a US stablecoin regulation bill, is set to take effect in January next year.

Lee said more than 160 trillion won ($115.9 billion) in digital assets moved last year from domestic exchanges to overseas exchanges and personal wallets, warning that the competitiveness of South Korea’s digital-asset industry could shift abroad.

He called for swift passage of the Digital Asset Basic Act, saying the country should first put a basic institutional framework in place and then refine the more detailed issues.