South Korea's financial regulators outlined policy aimed at building the infrastructure to tokenize securities for stablecoin settlement on Friday.
Officials from the country’s Financial Services Commission (FSC) and Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) said the plan to tokenize traditional securities such as stocks, bonds and funds and to expand security token offerings (STOs) beyond fractional investment products by February 2027.
"Authorities will seek to lay foundations to facilitate the tokenized issuance and circulation of more traditional types of securities, including stocks, bonds, and funds, with an ultimate goal of completely transforming and upgrading capital market infrastructures for digital connectivity," said Kwon Dae-young, the FSC’s vice chairman.
South Korea is one of the world's most active retail investment markets, with 11.3 million verified crypto users and a stock market that regularly sees daily trading volumes comparable to crypto exchanges. Bringing tokenization to conventional securities, not just fractional investment products, puts the country on a path to a full digital capital market infrastructure.
Asia is playing an increasingly significant role in global crypto markets, with the highest growth rate among all regions and a 30% share of global stablecoin trading activity in 2025, according to an Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) report.
Japan announced plans last week for a national blockchain settlement system for stocks and government bonds, which it aims to roll out by the early 2030s. Singapore finalized its stablecoin licensing framework this week.
The first phase of Korea’s roadmap kicks off in February 2027, with the Electronic Registration Act, a law for money market funds and bonds for institutional investors, unlisted stocks through trust structures, and publicly offered fractional investment securities.
The second leg of the plan opens tokenization to all publicly offered securities. And the third and final part establishes onchain payment infrastructure linked to stablecoins, though timing for phases two and three depends on phase one results, technological adoption by market participants, and pending stablecoin legislation.
Individual subscriptions are capped at the lower of 30 million won ($22,000) and 5% of the total issuance volume, according to the FSC’s statement. Annual net purchases on over-the-counter (OTC) exchanges are limited to about $74,000.
Existing licensed financial firms will be able to handle tokenized securities within their current licenses. Issuers managing their own securities accounts must hold at least $3 million in equity capital and meet specific IT and cybersecurity standards.
The FSC said it plans to introduce proposals to revise subsidiary legislation by the end of September.