There is growing attention on whether fintech companies will be able to directly issue and distribute stablecoins. Although the current law contains a 'ban on self-issued coin transactions,' there is the possibility of a flexible interpretation that narrows the scope of regulatory application. At the 'DSRV Fin:Frame 2025' seminar held on the 10th in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, Kim Hyobong, a lawyer from Law Firm Pacific, said, "A model where a fintech company issues and distributes stablecoins itself is currently difficult to allow under the law," but added, "The financial authorities may have room to take a flexible approach to the relevant bills." Kim explained, "The Virtual Asset User Protection Act contains a broad prohibition that states 'one cannot trade or buy virtual assets issued by oneself or a specially related person,'" and that "Interpreting it as is, a fintech company cannot both issue and distribute." However, he added, "If the application of the relevant clause is limited only to trading within virtual asset exchanges, a different situation could unfold. This would open the possibility for fintech companies to both issue and distribute." With the expansion of fintech companies' participation, it is also expected that separate licensing systems such as 'virtual asset payment business' or 'wallet service business' will be introduced. Kim added, "The current Electronic Financial Transactions Act does not assume blockchain-based payments and settlements, so it is likely that a separate payment business license will be established via the Digital Asset Basic Act." He continued, "If exchange between legal tender and coins takes place in the wallet, it was previously considered a trading business, but under the new bill, it could be regarded as an activity for payment purposes and included in the payment business license." He also commented on the capital requirement standard suggested for stablecoin issuance. On this day, Min Byungdeok of the Democratic Party of Korea proposed the 'Digital Asset Basic Act,' which enables a Korean corporation to issue stablecoins if it satisfies a self-capital of at least ₩500 million. Kim noted, "The initial bill set the requirement at ₩5 billion, causing backlash from the industry, but it has now been adjusted to ₩500 million or more." He added, "If you look closely at the bill, the amount of self-capital is determined by presidential decree. In the end, the requirement will be raised (to at least ₩500 million)." He further argued, "In the future, an additional self-capital reserve proportional to issuance volume could also be considered." Regarding the reserve assets for KRW stablecoins, he stated, "In Korea, there are not many government-issued short-term bonds, so it's necessary to diversify reserve assets to include deposits and highly liquid assets." He continued, "Similar to the MiCA (Markets in Crypto-Assets) regulation of the EU, some portion could be held in bank deposits, and the rest composed of highly liquid and low-risk assets."
6月 10日ピック