Ruling party launches 'Digital Asset TF'…virtual asset-related laws to be processed collectively as early as this year

Full-scale inclusion of digital assets into the regulatory framework

The ruling Democratic Party of Korea launched its in-party body, the 'Digital Asset Task Force (TF)', which will take the lead on legislation related to virtual assets, on the 24th. It plans to process the bills within this year by listening to opinions from industry and government officials, focusing on five related bills submitted to the 22nd National Assembly.

Ahn Do-geol, who serves as the TF secretary, told reporters after the launch ceremony that "we reached a consensus on the vision of passing digital asset-related bills through the National Assembly within this year after bipartisan agreement." The TF will hold a meeting with government ministries including the Financial Services Commission on the 25th, and on the 1st of next month will hear opinions from digital asset experts, fintech operators, the financial sector, and exchange officials.

Currently, five digital asset bills are posted on the National Assembly's bill information system. In the Democratic Party, Min Byung-deok, Kim Hyun-jung, Ahn Do-geol, and Lee Kang-il submitted bills, and in the People Power Party, Kim Eun-hye submitted one. Issues to be addressed include supervision of virtual asset service providers, separation of issuance and circulation of virtual assets, and stablecoin issuer capital requirements (₩500 million~₩5 billion).

TF leader Lee Jeong-mun of the Democratic Party emphasized, "The whole world has been swept by the craze for blockchain and digital assets, and digital assets stand at the center of the global financial market," adding, "Our country's financial market is also at a point where quick choices must be made amid a rapidly changing global environment."

Han Jung-ae, chair of the Democratic Party's Policy Committee, who attended the meeting, said, "Multi-asset investors who invest in coins alongside stocks have already become mainstream," and "the market has consistently raised the need for a bill that encompasses issuance and circulation of virtual assets and stablecoins."

Min, who introduced the basic Digital Asset Act, said, "I consider digital assets to be a technology for people’s livelihood," and "while Korea's physical territory is small, its digital territory can expand according to imagination." He added, "We will make sure the law we create becomes a stepping stone for the market, not a law that trips it up."

Reporter Choi Haeryeon haeryon@hankyung.com