South Korea’s ruling party issues ultimatum on stalled stablecoin bill: report
South Korea's ruling Democratic Party has issued an ultimatum to financial authorities, urging them to speed up legislation on the local stablecoin market.
According to a Monday report from Maeil Economic News, the ruling party notified the country's Financial Services Commission to submit a government proposal on stablecoin regulation by Dec. 10, describing it as a final demand.
"If the government plan doesn't come by this deadline, I will drive it forward through a legislator-initiated bill at the committee secretary level," Kang Jun-hyeon, a ruling party lawmaker and its secretary on the National Assembly's Financial Services Committee, reportedly said.
Kang said the party aims to introduce the bill during the current regular session of the National Assembly and pass it in January, according to the report.
On Monday, the ruling party members of the committee and the FSC held a closed-door meeting to discuss the matter. Kang told Maeil that authorities are considering an option that would allow the Bank of Korea, the FSC and the banking sector to form a consortium for issuing stablecoins.
The parties present at the meeting have advanced the discussion to exchange views on detailed requirements, such as mandating that banks collectively hold over 50% of the shares in the consortium. However, the FSC said in a separate notice that no definite agreement was reached in the meeting.
Local stablecoin efforts gained momentum as South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, who was elected earlier this year, made developing a Korean won-stablecoin market one of his key initiatives with an aim to protect monetary sovereignty against the dominant U.S. dollar stablecoin market.
While several lawmakers have proposed regulatory groundwork for a local stablecoin market, legislative efforts have yet to make meaningful progress. The bank-led consortium model now under discussion appears to reflect the Bank of Korea's firm position that stablecoin issuance should only be limited to regulated banks.
Disclaimer: The Block is an independent media outlet that delivers news, research, and data. As of November 2023, Foresight Ventures is a majority investor of The Block. Foresight Ventures invests in other companies in the crypto space. Crypto exchange Bitget is an anchor LP for Foresight Ventures. The Block continues to operate independently to deliver objective, impactful, and timely information about the crypto industry. Here are our current financial disclosures.
© 2025 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.