South Korea's "Digital Asset Framework Act" absent from parliamentary review, stablecoin legislation continues to be delayed

On May 12, the Korean National Assembly's Political Committee held its last bill review session of the first half of the year. During this meeting, the Financial Services Commission discussed a total of 53 bills, nearly half of which were amendments to the Capital Markets Act.

However, the highly anticipated bill related to stablecoins, the "Digital Asset Framework Act" (Phase Two Legislation), was not included in this review agenda. This situation surprised many who expected the bill to advance regulations related to the blockchain industry.

The committee stated that, considering upcoming committee reorganization and local elections, the relevant discussions could be postponed to the second half of the year. Currently, there are still 8 stablecoin bills pending in the Korean National Assembly, with legislative progress significantly lagging.

The bill has been shelved for months due to disagreements between the committee and the central bank over regulatory issues. The core dispute centers on the "51% rule" for Korean won stablecoins, specifically whether they should be issued by conglomerates in which banks hold more than 50% of the shares.

Notably, the country currently has approximately 9.7 million crypto investors (about 19% of the total population), including five licensed exchanges with daily trading volumes exceeding 11 trillion Korean won.

However, industry experts warn that legislative delays will exacerbate capital outflows and industry contraction. South Korea has fallen behind the EU, Japan, Singapore, and Hong Kong in the global crypto regulation race.

Legislators also announced that the "Digital Asset Framework Act" is expected to resume discussion after the local elections on June 3, once the organizational structure is finalized.

#South Korea Stablecoin Legislation