South Korea’s won stablecoin framework moved from policy discussion to concrete roadmap on 19 July 2026, as the Ministry of Economy and Finance jointly released a plan with the Financial Services Commission (FSC), the Bank of Korea (BOK), the Financial Supervisory Service, the Korea Exchange (KRX), and the Korea Securities Depository (KSD) to internationalise the Korean won and integrate it into the global digital payments stack.
The plan had been under joint preparation since February 2026, according to Chosun Ilbo. The inclusion of Korea Exchange alongside the central bank and securities depository is notable in the official release: it signals that the exchange infrastructure layer is already inside the tent.
What the Digital Asset Basic Act Means for Won Stablecoins
The legal foundation for won-backed stablecoins sits inside the Digital Asset Basic Act, proposed by South Korea’s ruling Democratic Party in April 2026. The Act distinguishes between general digital assets and asset-linked digital assets, with won-backed stablecoins falling into the second category and requiring an FSC licence.
Foreign issuers face a harder path: the Act requires them to establish a local branch or subsidiary in South Korea before obtaining that licence, according to Law.asia‘s review of the legislation. An earlier parliamentary version set the capital floor for stablecoin issuers at KRW 500 million (approximately $360,000), with requirements covering refund reserves, a credible repayment plan, and a filed registration statement detailing issuance limits and redemption mechanisms.
The inter-agency politics behind the Act have been messy. The BOK pushed for bank-led consortiums to hold at least a 51% ownership stake in any stablecoin issuer, framing it as a financial stability measure. The FSC pushed back, warning that a hard bank-ownership threshold would stifle non-bank innovation. CoinDesk reported that those negotiations had stalled earlier in the year. The roadmap’s publication suggests the agencies have found enough common ground to move forward, though the ownership question is unresolved on the face of the document.
CBDC Infrastructure and Project Agorá
The BOK’s institutional CBDC work provides the settlement rails underneath both the stablecoin framework and the tokenised government bond programme. The CBDC pilot integrated commercial bank ledgers and blockchain systems in June 2026, according to Crypto Briefing, with the government bond tokenisation layer being built on top of that infrastructure and a full regulatory framework expected by early 2027.
The BOK is also now a participant in Project Agorá, the Bank for International Settlements initiative building tokenised cross-border payment infrastructure. On 30 July 2026, the project completed a real-value transaction (RVT) milestone: a live test involving central banks from eight countries, including South Korea, the US, Japan, the UK, and France, alongside more than 40 financial institutions and South Korea’s five largest commercial banks, according to Bloomingbit. CoinDesk reported the test processed roughly $1 million (CHF 800,000) in real-value transactions across six currencies, including the Korean won. The BOK is also reviewing interoperability between the Agorá platform and its own CBDC project, Project Hangang.
The Offshore Won Settlement Network and Forex Liberalisation
Separate from the digital asset layer, the roadmap overhauls the plumbing for cross-border won settlement. The BOK will establish a dedicated settlement network, distinct from the existing BOK-Wire+ system, to support 24-hour real-time gross settlement (RTGS) for registered offshore won settlement institutions. The Ministry of Economy and Finance’s release sets a target of 2026 for that network; Chosun Ilbo reports the BOK aims for full 24-hour RTGS operations to begin in January.
Nighttime liquidity is an explicit concern. The government plans to allow foreign financial institutions to procure won for settlements through temporary borrowing without restrictions, with a two-stage liquidity supply mechanism drawing on either the BOK or the government’s Foreign Exchange Stabilization Fund also under review.
Reporting thresholds for foreign currency lending and capital transactions are set to more than double. Over the longer term, the prior-approval system for cross-border won transactions would be replaced by a post-reporting framework. Domestic real estate transactions are carved out: Chosun Ilbo notes foreign dealings in South Korean real estate will be excluded from the capital-transaction prior-reporting exemption.
The broader legislative context adds weight to the timeline. Yahoo Finance reported that the Ministry of Economy and Finance on 15 July 2026 unveiled a National Asset Basic Act, the first overhaul of its kind in 76 years, that would classify cryptocurrencies and virtual assets as state assets; authorities are also reviewing Capital Markets Act amendments to allow the first spot crypto ETFs. The won stablecoin framework is one piece of a considerably larger regulatory pivot. The key near-term binary is whether the Digital Asset Basic Act clears parliament with the bank-ownership clause intact or diluted: that outcome will set the competitive landscape for every potential won stablecoin issuer.
