South Korean insurers lag behind banks on stablecoin development

While discussions on creating a won-backed stablecoin are gaining traction in South Korea's financial sector, the insurance industry has shown almost no initiative in developing or preparing related products, the Maeil Business Newspaper reported. Data requested today by the office of Democratic Party lawmaker Min Byoung-dug, a member of the National Assembly's National Policy Committee, confirmed this. Inquiries to the Financial Services Commission, the Financial Supervisory Service, and various insurance industry groups revealed no records of insurers reviewing insurance or pension products that utilize stablecoins or real-world assets (RWA). An insurance industry official explained that the sector must be more cautious than other financial industries when reviewing new digital asset technologies, citing the prevalence of long-term contracts and the need for stable customer asset management.