Korea’s ruling party proposes the “Basic Act on Digital Assets”: stablecoins are regulated like banks, and RWA tokenization is included in the Capital Markets Act

The South Korean ruling party, the Democratic Party, officially introduced the draft “Digital Asset Basic Act” on April 8. The plan is to incorporate stablecoins and real-world asset tokenization (RWA) into the existing financial regulatory framework, rather than creating an entirely new law. If this legislation is passed, it would make South Korea the first major economy in Asia to comprehensively regulate digital assets using existing financial structures.

Stablecoins: licensing regime, full reserves, prohibition on paying interest

According to a report by CoinDesk, the draft establishes a clear licensing mechanism for “value-linked digital assets” (i.e., stablecoins). Issuers must obtain a license and meet minimum capital requirements, full reserves of real assets, and the right of holders to redeem at any time.

Notably, the draft explicitly prohibits stablecoin issuers from paying interest, discounts, or any form of compensation to holders, regardless of how it is labeled. This provision contrasts with the direction currently being discussed in the United States under the “Clarity Act,” about whether stablecoin yield would be allowed.

For cross-border applications, the draft proposes treating stablecoins as payment instruments recognized by the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act. Companies handling related business activities would be subject to foreign exchange supervision, but would not need to register separately.

RWA tokenization: trust structure + jurisdiction under the Capital Markets Act

In the portion on real-world asset tokenization, the draft requires that all linked real-world assets— including real estate, artworks, intellectual property rights, and more— must be held in custody through trust institutions regulated under the Capital Markets Act. This means that standardized assets such as U.S. Treasury securities and asset-backed loans can also be issued legally as blockchain tokens, but must comply with existing securities regulations.

This “bridging existing regulations” approach allows RWA tokenization to avoid waiting for an entirely new legislative process, and is expected to accelerate the time-to-market for compliant products.

Dispute over stablecoin issuance rights: central bank vs. FSC

However, the core controversy of this legislation lies in “who is qualified to issue stablecoins.” The Bank of Korea (BOK) insists that only institutions with more than 51% bank ownership can issue stablecoins. The Financial Services Commission (FSC), however, warns that this could stifle innovation, and the Democratic Party has also publicly opposed the central bank’s position.

This “banks vs. fintech” power struggle effectively determines the competitive landscape for South Korea’s won stablecoin market: if issuance is limited to banks, major technology payment platforms such as Kakao Pay and Toss would be excluded; if issuance is opened to multiple players, a more complex regulatory framework would be needed to ensure financial stability.

Blockchain interoperability standards: prevent liquidity fragmentation

Another provision in the draft worth noting is the requirement for the Financial Services Commission to set cross-blockchain interoperability standards. Lawmakers are concerned that if future won stablecoins are issued across different blockchains, it could lead to liquidity fragmentation, affecting payment efficiency and market depth.

If the bill is advanced smoothly after the June local elections, South Korea could establish a complete RWA and stablecoin regulatory framework as early as the end of 2026 to the beginning of 2027, setting a new reference standard for digital asset regulation in Asia.

This article The South Korean ruling party proposes the “Digital Asset Basic Act”: stablecoins regulated like banks, RWA tokenization included under the Capital Markets Act First appears on Chain News ABMedia.