The Democratic Party of Korea has finalized the name of a bill that contains a won-denominated stablecoin framework as the Digital Asset Basic Act and decided to introduce it before the Lunar New Year holiday next month. The minimum statutory capital requirement for stablecoin issuers is expected to be 5 billion won.
The Democratic Party's digital asset task force (TF) held a meeting at the National Assembly members' office building on the morning of the 28th and discussed key issues of the Digital Asset Basic Act with government officials.
On authorization, the TF settled on coordination among related agencies instead of a "unanimous consent system." The standing consultative body that will discuss authorizations will include the Bank of Korea (BOK), the Financial Services Commission, the Ministry of Economy and Finance, and the Financial Supervisory Service.
The TF considered that requiring unanimity for stablecoin authorization would slow issuance. The unanimous consent system had been proposed earlier by the Bank of Korea (BOK). Observers say the central bank, which decides policies related to currency, put forward unanimity as a way to control stablecoins, a new means of currency.
The minimum statutory capital for stablecoin issuers was set at 5 billion won. The digital asset industry framework will also be divided into eight business categories, with the two to three highest-risk categories subject to "authorization" and the rest to "registration." In addition, a private statutory council chaired by the Chairperson of the Financial Services Commission (FSC) will be established, with the Bank of Korea (BOK), the Ministry of Economy and Finance, and the Ministry of Science and ICT participating.
Lee Jeong-mun, the Democratic Party lawmaker who serves as chairperson, met with reporters after the meeting and said, "Soon, at the TF level, we will coordinate what has been sorted out regarding the issues with the party's policy committee and discuss it with the government." TF secretary lawmaker Ahn Do-geol said, "We plan to introduce the Digital Asset Basic Act before the Lunar New Year, and we hope that by then a plan agreed upon with the government as much as possible will be put together."
However, no agreement was reached on the biggest sticking point, the entity that would issue stablecoins. The explanation was that differences remained among government ministries over whether to designate the "bank equity 50%+1 share consortium" proposed by the Bank of Korea (BOK) as the issuer. A proposal to limit a virtual asset exchange's controlling shareholder's equity stake to 15%–20% was also not discussed on the day.
Lee Kang-il, a Democratic Party lawmaker on the TF, said, "The '50%+1 share' rule remains contentious because there is still no willingness to concede among government ministries. We prepared a mediation plan and delivered it to both sides," adding, "We will make decisions in a direction that serves the national interest overall and benefits the public." He went on to explain, "We also plan to deliver the mediation plan to the presidential office."