Ruling Party Speeds Up Digital Asset Basic Act... Party’s Proposal to Be Submitted in Early February

"TF Proposal Prioritized Amid Government Delays"
Report to Party Leadership Planned by End of January

The Digital Asset Task Force (TF) of the Democratic Party of Korea announced that it will propose its own version of the Digital Asset Basic Act by early February. The TF stated that it will prepare its proposal separately from the government’s version, but will communicate with the Presidential Office, the Financial Services Commission, and other relevant bodies to develop a compromise plan.

On the afternoon of January 20, the party and government held a closed-door meeting at the National Assembly and reached this decision. The meeting was convened to organize the key issues of five digital asset-related bills submitted by Democratic Party lawmakers.

Lee Jeongmoon, the TF chair, told reporters after the meeting, “We have repeatedly asked the government to submit digital asset-related legislation since October and November of last year, but as of the end of January this year, it still has not been submitted. Therefore, the TF decided not to wait any longer for the government’s bill and instead organized a TF proposal centered on lawmakers’ drafts.”

The TF plans to hold one more meeting on January 27 to further organize the key issues. Afterward, by the end of January, the TF will report to the party’s floor leader and the chair of the policy committee to establish the party’s official position.

Yonhap News Agency

However, the TF expects that it will take some time for the bill to pass. Assemblyman Lee stated, “Even if the Democratic Party produces a unified proposal, three lawmakers from the People Power Party have also submitted bills, so coordination will be necessary. Furthermore, since the chair of the National Assembly’s Political Affairs Committee is from the People Power Party, the key issues will need to be sorted out in the bill subcommittee.” He added, “There are also some members of the opposition party who are positive about this bill, so we will make every effort to coordinate and enact the legislation as soon as possible.”

The TF announced that its primary focus is to create a comprehensive bill covering the entire spectrum of virtual assets, including stablecoins. Assemblyman Ahn Dogeol, the TF secretary, said, “It would be ideal to create an integrated law that establishes the entire virtual asset ecosystem.” He added, “While integrated legislation is desirable, there are so many types of virtual assets and so many issues that we may also consider advancing a separate bill focused solely on stablecoins.”

The government had previously aimed to submit a related bill to the National Assembly in December of last year, but the schedule was delayed due to disagreements between the Financial Services Commission and the National Assembly. The Financial Services Commission proposed that stablecoin issuers be organized as consortia, with banks holding a 51% stake, but the Democratic Party argued that non-banking sectors such as fintech companies should also be included.

Regarding the issuer, Assemblyman Ahn stated, “The main focus should be on creating opportunities for innovative growth through stablecoins. At the same time, there was consensus that we must choose a plan that ensures financial order and safety.”