TL;DR
- FSC Chair Lee Eok-won urges balancing financial safety with international competitiveness.
- The government aims to allow private firms to issue won-pegged coins, reversing previous bans.
- Lawmakers criticize the Bank of Korea’s caution in a global market that now exceeds $305 billion.
The global race for dominance in digital financial infrastructure is intensifying in Asia. Lee Eok-won, Chairman of the Financial Services Commission (FSC), explained that South Korea’s stablecoin adoption is proving to be a strategic priority.
The regulator added that, while eliminating financial risks is crucial, South Korea cannot afford to lag behind the regulatory and technological advances already being implemented by the United States and Japan.
Lee Eok-won made these statements against the backdrop of a global stablecoin market that has grown 50% in 2025. Currently, the valuation of stablecoins stands at $305 billion. President Lee Jae-myung’s government intends to reverse the token issuance ban that has been in place since 2019.
Now, their plan seeks to allow banks and private tech companies to issue their own won-pegged (KRW) coins, hoping for a robust domestic competitor to emerge against dominant giants like USDT and USDC.
The Bank of Korea Faces Legislative Pressure
Despite the government momentum to foster South Korea’s stablecoin adoption, significant internal friction exists. The Bank of Korea (BOK) has been reticent, recently publishing a 157-page report warning that won-pegged coins could spark capital flight and damage monetary policy sovereignty.
However, key political allies like lawmaker Min Byoung-dug have dismissed these concerns, calling them “scare stories” and lamenting that the central bank is wasting energy debating while the technology is already ready and the market demands it.
Analysts and academics, such as Professor Lim Jong-in, are urging Seoul to act quickly. They point out that legislative moves in the US, like the “Genius Act,” are designed to maintain dollar hegemony, putting pressure on Korea to align with global trends.
The FSC’s vision is clear: integrate these assets to open new opportunities for innovation, utilizing modern defenses—likely based on Artificial Intelligence—to minimize money laundering risks without stalling progress.
