South Korea's ruling party fails to reach consensus on stablecoin bill

South Korea's ruling Democratic Party has failed to reach an internal consensus on key provisions of its planned Digital Asset Basic Act, its digital asset task force announced on Jan. 28. According to a report from Edaily, sensitive issues, including the scope of the Bank of Korea's authority and restrictions on major shareholders of crypto exchanges, will be finalized after further coordination. Task force chairman Lee Jeong-moon stated that opinions are sharply divided on a proposal to grant issuance rights for won-denominated stablecoins only to consortiums where banks hold a stake of over 51%. He noted that a compromise plan sent to the Bank of Korea and the Financial Services Commission has not yet been agreed upon. A separate proposal to cap any major shareholder's stake in an exchange at 15% was deferred, with Lee citing concerns over legislative strategy despite a general consensus on the measure's intent. The party plans to introduce its version of the bill before the Lunar New Year holiday next month following further internal and government discussions.