South Korea promotes the "Digital Asset Basic Law": stablecoin issuance requires licensing, plans to establish a presidentially affiliated regulatory committee.

South Korea is accelerating its efforts to build a more comprehensive regulatory system for Crypto Assets. The ruling party's member of parliament, Min Byeong-deok, held a press conference on Tuesday to announce a new proposal called the "Digital Asset Basic Act," which aims to further regulate the cryptocurrency industry, including a new licensing system for stablecoin issuers.

Based on existing laws, South Korea builds a complete regulatory framework.

This proposal is an extension based on the Virtual Asset Investor Protection Act, which will come into effect in July 2024. Min Bingde pointed out that while the previous law focused on investor protection, the new Digital Asset Basic Law will establish a broader and more structured framework for digital assets, covering all aspects from issuance to trading.

Stablecoin must be licensed, with a capital threshold of 500 million Korean Won.

A major highlight of the new bill is the introduction of a licensing system for stablecoin issuance. According to the proposal, all stablecoin issuers must obtain official permission and hold at least 500 million Korean Won (approximately 368,000 USD) in their own capital. This measure is seen as part of the fulfillment of President Lee Jae-myung's campaign promise, aimed at encouraging the development of stablecoins based on the Korean Won and preventing capital outflow to markets for stablecoins based on the US dollar or other foreign currencies. Min Byung-deok, who served as the head of the digital asset policy group during Lee Jae-myung's campaign, has a highly dominant role in this legislative direction.

International Trends: The US, Hong Kong and other countries are also strengthening stablecoin regulation.

This stablecoin regulation is in sync with global trends. US President Donald Trump, backed by Donald Trump, is pushing the Genius Act to establish a regulatory regime for the stablecoin market. Hong Kong has also recently passed a bill requiring stablecoin issuers to obtain a license to operate. South Korea's proposal is in line with the position of the above-mentioned countries, demonstrating its intention to participate in the global crypto regulatory arena. Min added that the crypto policies of the United States, the European Union and Japan have covered the entire process of asset issuance, circulation and trading, and South Korea also needs to supplement the regulatory puzzle.

Beyond stablecoins: Defining digital assets and establishing a regulatory committee

The "Digital Asset Basic Law" is not limited to the stablecoin sector. The bill also clearly defines the legal definition of "digital assets" and proposes management standards for relevant service providers. Furthermore, the bill suggests the establishment of a "Digital Asset Committee," which will be directly supervised by the Presidential Office to ensure that the government has a more timely and accurate grasp of market dynamics.

In addition to institutional construction and industry promotion, this bill will also establish legal mechanisms to punish improper behaviors in the encryption market, such as insider trading, price manipulation, and fraud, aiming to create a more transparent and trustworthy trading environment.

This article discusses South Korea's promotion of the "Digital Asset Basic Law": the issuance of stablecoins must be licensed, and it plans to establish a regulatory committee directly under the President, first appearing in Chain News ABMedia.