South Korea resumes Digital Asset Framework Act talks after four-month pause

At a July 21 Seoul forum, government and financial-regulator officials urged faster stablecoin legislation, framing won-based tokens as AI-era payments infrastructure and part of South Korea’s broader competitiveness push.

Summary

South Korea’s stablecoin and digital-asset legislation returned to public focus at a government-hosted Seoul forum on July 21, where officials from both the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Financial Services Commission called for faster action on the second phase of the Digital Asset Basic Act. Park Young-sun said stablecoins should be treated as core payments infrastructure for the AI era, while FSC digital finance policy director general Yoo Young-jun said the regulator would “finalize stablecoin legislation as soon as possible.” The government and ruling party aim to unify pending bills into a draft in September and pass it this year.

Terms & Concepts
  • Digital Asset Basic Act: South Korea’s planned legal framework for digital assets, with a second phase expected to address stablecoins and broader market rules.
  • won-based stablecoins: Digital tokens designed to maintain a stable value linked to the South Korean won.
  • AI agents: Software systems that can perform tasks or transactions with a degree of autonomy in digital economic activity.