South Korea’s ruling Democratic Party is reportedly drafting legislation that would bring stablecoins and tokenized real-world assets (RWAs) under existing financial regulations.
According to the Seoul Economic Daily on Wednesday, the proposed Digital Asset Basic Act would classify stablecoins used in cross-border transactions as “means of payment” under the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act, subjecting related businesses to regulatory oversight even without separate registration.
The draft bill would also require issuers of tokenized RWAs to hold underlying assets in managed trusts under the Capital Markets Act.
If enacted, the measures would tighten oversight of cross-border stablecoin flows and establish formal custody requirements for assets backing tokenized RWAs.
Stablecoin draft targets cross-border use, prohibits interest payments
The Seoul Economic Daily reported that South Korea’s draft Digital Asset Basic Act would exempt certain stablecoin payments for goods and services from foreign exchange reporting requirements within a defined scope.
The bill would also bar issuers from paying interest to holders of value-stable digital assets, regardless of how such incentives are labeled. Additionally, it mandates that the Financial Services Commission set technical standards to ensure interoperability across digital asset networks, the report said.
The approach echoes concerns previously raised by the Bank of Korea. On January 27, Governor Lee Chang-yong warned that Korean won–denominated stablecoins could complicate capital-flow management and foreign exchange stability, fueling the debate over domestic stablecoin regulation.
Draft moves tokenization under existing frameworks
For tokenized real-world assets (RWAs), the draft reportedly requires issuers to place underlying assets in managed trusts under the Capital Markets Act, linking tokenized issuance to established custody frameworks.
The report noted that certain issues—such as exchange ownership limits and bank-related requirements for stablecoin issuers—were not addressed in the draft. These omissions reflect ongoing disagreements over how stablecoins should be regulated, which had previously delayed the Digital Asset Basic Act on December 31.
