Issuer supervision puts brakes on disagreement
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The government is continuing to refine the draft of the Basic Digital Asset Act, but key issues surrounding stablecoin issuers and supervisors remain unresolved, leading to plans to delay the bill's submission until next year. The key issue is whether a separate organization is needed to oversee issuers prior to approval.
The bill, proposed by the ruling Democratic Party of Korea in June, aims to permit the issuance of stablecoins pegged to the Korean won. The draft bill stipulates that stablecoin issuers must deposit all reserve assets with approved custodians, such as banks. During its review of the bill, the Financial Services Commission is also discussing measures to limit the role of financial institutions in the stablecoin sector to encourage the participation of technology companies.
The institutionalization of stablecoins was one of President Lee Jae-myung's campaign pledges before his inauguration in June. President Lee Jae-myung has also supported the introduction of an exchange-traded fund (ETF) linked to Bitcoin (BTC) in addition to exploring the possibility of the National Pension Service investing in digital assets. Bitcoin is currently trading at around $88,400 (KRW 130 million).
Meanwhile, the Korean judicial authorities are also focusing on the execution of Terraform Labs co-founder Kwon Do-hyung. Do-hyung was convicted in the United States for ecosystem collapse and sentenced to up to 15 years in prison. As a Korean citizen, there is speculation that he may serve part of his sentence in Korea. According to legal documents, he could face an additional sentence of up to 40 years in Korea.
Reporter Jeong Ha-yeon yomwork8824@blockstreet.co.kr
