TechFlow News, February 23: According to Cointelegraph, the Bank of Korea (BOK) submitted a report to the National Assembly’s Strategy and Finance Committee, reiterating its position that issuance authority for Korean won-pegged stablecoins should be restricted to commercial banks. The BOK proposed establishing a bank-centered joint issuance mechanism and an interdepartmental statutory regulatory coordination body, citing the U.S. GENIUS Act’s tripartite regulatory framework—comprising the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the Federal Reserve, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation—as a reference model.
The BOK classifies Korean won stablecoins as “quasi-monetary substitutes,” warning that independent issuance by non-bank entities could disrupt monetary policy and pose risks of circumventing foreign exchange reporting requirements, while also contradicting Korea’s principle of separation between banking and commerce. The central bank stated that banks subject to capital, governance, and compliance standards should be granted priority access; participation by other entities should proceed gradually only after thorough risk assessment.
At the legislative level, disputes over eligibility criteria for issuing Korean won stablecoins—and particularly over required bank ownership stakes—have repeatedly delayed related legislation. Originally scheduled for completion in October 2025, the bill was postponed in November due to regulatory disagreements; lawmakers had anticipated reaching a resolution in January of this year, but no definitive legislative timeline has yet been announced. Sangmin Seo, Chairman of the Kaia DLT Foundation, previously publicly questioned the rationale behind bank-led issuance, arguing that establishing clear issuer rules is the most effective way to mitigate risks.
