South Korea plans to regulate real-world assets and stablecoins, pushing for the legalization of digital assets

Gate News: South Korea’s Democratic Party plans to include tokenized real-world assets (RWA) and stablecoins in the existing financial framework for regulation in the soon-to-be introduced “Digital Assets Framework Act.” According to the Seoul Economic Daily, the bill requires issuers of tokenized real-world assets, under the Capital Markets Act, to place the relevant assets into a trustee institution under delegated management, with details to be specified in a presidential decree.

At the same time, the proposal classifies stablecoins as “means of payment” under the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act, meaning stablecoin companies would be supervised by local foreign exchange regulatory authorities and would not need to register separately. Stablecoin exemptions from foreign exchange reporting requirements for small-scale transactions of goods and services are expected to encourage everyday use, while large transactions would remain subject to strict regulation.

Regarding stablecoin earnings, the bill prohibits charging returns on idle stablecoin balances to avoid the risk of excessive financialization. The proposal also requires the Financial Services Commission to develop technical standards for stablecoin interoperability and to establish a unified digital asset information disclosure system, providing transparency and safety assurances for the market.

The “Digital Assets Framework Act” is South Korea’s second piece of related legislation following the country’s first digital asset regulation. Although the legislative process was once hindered and the original 2025 year deadline was postponed, this proposal marks a key step in South Korea’s move toward digital asset regulation and legalization. The move is expected to affect the local ecosystem for crypto assets such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, while also providing a clear path for the compliant development of stablecoins and tokenized real-world assets.