FSC expects Digital Asset Basic Act to reach subcommittee in November

The Financial Services Commission expects the Digital Asset Basic Act to be taken up by the National Assembly's legislation subcommittee in November.

Seo Na-yun, head of the FSC's virtual assets division, said Tuesday at a seminar organized by digital asset policy think tank MRI that the regulator has already set its direction on the legislation. "Even if the government's bill is delayed, there are already proposed bills in place, so we fully expect the subcommittee to proceed in November and are preparing accordingly," she said. The seminar was titled "US Crypto Asset Financing Policy and Korea's Digital Asset Legislation Challenges."

Seo also stressed that a change in personnel would not slow the process. "There is no way a schedule can be delayed just because the staff in the responsible division has changed," she said. The FSC recently replaced Kim Seong-jin with Seo as head of the virtual assets division.

The industry has long worried that delays in drafting the government's version of the Digital Asset Basic Act could push back the legislative timeline in the Assembly. A plan has been floated to hold a public hearing this month and begin full bill deliberations in November, after the national audit, but the timing of the government's submission remains unconfirmed.

Key sticking points surrounding the basic act include who would be permitted to issue won-denominated stablecoins and whether to cap major shareholders' stakes in digital asset exchanges.

Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Min Byeong-deok also said the deliberations have dragged on too long and called for the Assembly to begin its own discussions rather than wait for the government to finalize its bill. "If the government has not yet reached a conclusion, the Assembly can proceed on its own track while the government works on its side, and the two can be merged afterward," Min said.