The Financial Services Commission (FSC) of South Korea recently changed its stance and officially supported the central bank's strict restrictions on stablecoin issuance. This proposed revision was announced on January 8 and immediately sparked industry discussion.

The core requirement of the new regulation is straightforward—stablecoin issuance must be led by banks. Specifically, banks need to hold more than 50% of the shares, and while technology companies can become the largest shareholders, their shareholding must be below that of the banks. In other words, the actual control of financial institutions is being strengthened.

The capital threshold has also been significantly raised. Issuers are required to have at least 5 billion KRW (approximately $3.7 million) in paid-in capital, and regulators reserve the right to further increase this standard based on market development. For trading platforms, the pressure is equally substantial. The new regulation mandates platforms to improve the stability standards of their IT infrastructure, and if losses are caused by hacking attacks, they must bear compensation responsibilities. Violating platforms face severe penalties—fines can reach up to 10% of annual revenue.

This proposal reflects the differing views among South Korea's ruling party, financial regulators, and the central bank. How the policy will ultimately be implemented remains to be seen as all parties continue to negotiate.