The Ministry of Economy and Finance of South Korea is drafting a new law for the management of state-owned assets, with plans to bring emerging assets such as cryptocurrencies under regulatory oversight

On July 15, according to market sources, the South Korean government is working on a new national asset management legal framework, incorporating emerging asset categories such as cryptocurrencies into the national asset management system.

On Wednesday, at a routine press briefing held at Cheong Wa Dae, the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Ministry of Finance stated that they will establish the “Basic Law on National Assets” to update the government’s asset management system.

The Ministry of Finance noted that the existing “National Property Act” was enacted in 1950 and mainly targets an asset structure centered on real estate from that era.

Meanwhile, the new legal framework will cover new asset categories such as intellectual property and virtual assets, while also strengthening professional, category-based management and development of national assets.

Under the new framework, South Korea plans to shift state-owned property management from the traditional model focused on preservation, sale, and basic development to a value-creation-centered model.

At the Cabinet meeting on Monday, the Ministry of Finance of South Korea reiterated its support for the blockchain and the digital asset economy. Although current policy is more tilted toward AI, blockchain is still explicitly listed as an important component of the country’s economic growth strategy in the second half of 2026.

At present, the Ministry of Finance has included blockchain economic development in its plans. Specific measures include further advancing the central bank digital currency (CBDC) project, as well as drafting a “Basic Law on Digital Assets” specifically for the cryptocurrency and stablecoin industry.

Overall, this series of initiatives indicates that South Korea is adopting a parallel AI-and-blockchain strategy for emerging technologies—driving progress through both regulatory legislation and project implementation—in an effort to find a balance between innovation and regulation.

#South Korea asset management law