CBSR · evidence library

South Korea stablecoin regulation evidence | CBSR historical snapshot

Explore 14 South Korea stablecoin regulatory records with source locators, issuer pathways, reserve and yield rules, legal-force and review status in the 20 August 2026 CBSR snapshot.

Read this jurisdiction in context

South Korea's stablecoin-specific issuer, reserve, yield and cross-border proposals are marked pending_proposal in this snapshot. Competing bank-led and fintech-inclusive designs are draft-policy positions. They must not be reported as an operative licensing, reserve or interest regime merely because a draft has an official legislative URL.

Coverage and unresolved review work

Records: 14
Binding status: in_force_enacted: 4/14; pending_proposal: 10/14
Evidence tier: firm_summary: 8/14; mixed: 2/14; resolution_text: 1/14; unverified: 3/14
Review freshness: unknown: 14/14
Source availability: official: 10/14; unavailable: 4/14

Four regulatory questions and their evidence

Issuer pathway

kr-frs-issuer_pathway-001

Snapshot record wording · not a statutory quotation

No stablecoin issuer is licensed; domestic won-stablecoin issuance is effectively prohibited under current law. Future eligibility is contested: the BOK seeks bank-led consortia holding at least fifty-one percent; the FSC favours a more fintech-inclusive model. These are draft provisions, not operative law, and reported minimum-capital figures diverge across drafts (a press-versus-draft discrepancy) and should be treated as provisional.

Instrument / locator: Virtual Asset User Protection Act (current law); draft Digital Asset Basic Act
Issuer pathway — won-issuance effectively prohibited; future eligibility contested (BOK vs FSC); NOT in force
Primary-source link: Open the source recorded by CBSR
Binding / legal status: pending_proposal
proposed
Claim / evidence tier: tier1_legal
firm_summary
Source disposition / check: official
not_checked
Last source check / next due: Not evidenced / Not evidenced
Freshness / review stage: unknown
unreviewed
Independent second reviewer: Not recorded
Effective from / until, as recorded: Not evidenced / Not evidenced
Uncertainty: high
Exact committed record: kr-frs-issuer_pathway-001.yaml

Reserve and backing

kr-frs-reserve_backing-001

Snapshot record wording · not a statutory quotation

DRAFT: more than one hundred percent reserves in safe assets, bank- or custodian-held, segregated. No reserve regime is in force. Draft provisions only.

Instrument / locator: Draft Digital Asset Basic Act
Reserve/backing (draft) — >100% reserves in safe assets, bank/custodian-held, segregated; NOT in force
Primary-source link: Open the source recorded by CBSR
Binding / legal status: pending_proposal
proposed
Claim / evidence tier: tier1_legal
firm_summary
Source disposition / check: official
not_checked
Last source check / next due: Not evidenced / Not evidenced
Freshness / review stage: unknown
unreviewed
Independent second reviewer: Not recorded
Effective from / until, as recorded: Not evidenced / Not evidenced
Uncertainty: high
Exact committed record: kr-frs-reserve_backing-001.yaml

Permitted activity and yield

kr-frs-permitted_activity_yield-001

Snapshot record wording · not a statutory quotation

DRAFT (Value-Stabilised Assets Act track): prohibition on interest or discounts to holders. No yield regime is in force. The draft yield prohibition would align Korea with the United States, the European Union, and Japan, but it is not operative until enactment.

Instrument / locator: Draft Digital Asset Basic Act (Value-Stabilised Assets Act track)
Yield (draft) — prohibition on interest/discounts to holders; NOT in force
Primary-source link: Open the source recorded by CBSR
Binding / legal status: pending_proposal
proposed
Claim / evidence tier: tier1_legal
firm_summary
Source disposition / check: official
not_checked
Last source check / next due: Not evidenced / Not evidenced
Freshness / review stage: unknown
unreviewed
Independent second reviewer: Not recorded
Effective from / until, as recorded: Not evidenced / Not evidenced
Uncertainty: high
Exact committed record: kr-frs-permitted_activity_yield-001.yaml

Monetary sovereignty

kr-frs-monetary_sovereignty-001

Snapshot record wording · not a statutory quotation

No stablecoin-specific monetary-sovereignty regime is in force. DRAFT: cross-border won stablecoins would be classified as a foreign-exchange means of payment under the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act, engaging the capital-flow management regime. Won FX stability is the backdrop and the monetary-sovereignty contest (the central-bank-approval question) is the defining open issue and the principal item stalling the bill.

Instrument / locator: Draft Digital Asset Basic Act; Foreign Exchange Transactions Act
Monetary sovereignty (draft) — cross-border won stablecoins as FX means of payment; NOT in force
Primary-source link: Open the source recorded by CBSR
Binding / legal status: pending_proposal
proposed
Claim / evidence tier: tier1_legal
firm_summary
Source disposition / check: official
not_checked
Last source check / next due: Not evidenced / Not evidenced
Freshness / review stage: unknown
unreviewed
Independent second reviewer: Not recorded
Effective from / until, as recorded: Not evidenced / Not evidenced
Uncertainty: high
Exact committed record: kr-frs-monetary_sovereignty-001.yaml

Complete record inventory

Record / dimension	Recorded source locator	Binding status	Freshness	Source check date
AML and KYC	AML — Travel Rule + VASP registration for stablecoin-to-fiat conversion for third parties	in_force_enacted	unknown	Not evidenced
Bank and non-bank routing	Issuance/routing architecture — pending enactment	pending_proposal	unknown	Not evidenced
Capital requirements	Capital (draft) — minimum equity to be set on enactment; figures provisional; NOT in force	pending_proposal	unknown	Not evidenced
Cross-border data	Cross-border data — PIPA governs data including localisation	in_force_enacted	unknown	Not evidenced
Disclosure and reporting	Disclosure/supervision — pending enactment	pending_proposal	unknown	Not evidenced
Distribution	Distribution (draft) — foreign issuers local branch/subsidiary + FSC licence; brokered exchange trading; NOT in force	pending_proposal	unknown	Not evidenced
Implementation status	Timeline — VAUPA in force 19 Jul 2024; DABA pending (off subcommittee 12 May 2026; H2 2026 goal, uncertain)	in_force_enacted	unknown	Not evidenced
Issuer pathway	Issuer pathway — won-issuance effectively prohibited; future eligibility contested (BOK vs FSC); NOT in force	pending_proposal	unknown	Not evidenced
Monetary sovereignty	Monetary sovereignty (draft) — cross-border won stablecoins as FX means of payment; NOT in force	pending_proposal	unknown	Not evidenced
Permitted activity and yield	Yield (draft) — prohibition on interest/discounts to holders; NOT in force	pending_proposal	unknown	Not evidenced
Redemption	Redemption (draft) — par issuance and redemption; NOT in force	pending_proposal	unknown	Not evidenced
Regulatory authority	Regulators — FSC would administer issuance; BOK consultative; VAUPA in force, DABA pending	in_force_enacted	unknown	Not evidenced
Reserve and backing	Reserve/backing (draft) — >100% reserves in safe assets, bank/custodian-held, segregated; NOT in force	pending_proposal	unknown	Not evidenced
Securities classification	Securities characterization — pending the enacted DABA	pending_proposal	unknown	Not evidenced