South Korea's FSC Publishes Draft Tokenised Securities Rules for Public Comment

South Korea’s Financial Services Commission (FSC) has released draft regulations governing the issuance of tokenised securities and fractional investment products, building on a roadmap the regulator circulated the previous month. The consultation period runs until 11 November, with the rules scheduled to take effect on 4 February 2027, contingent on FSC resolution, legislative review, and cabinet approval. Enabling legislation recognising distributed ledger-based securities was passed earlier in 2026.

The draft covers tokenised versions of conventional instruments alongside fractional investment products, including trust beneficiary tokens tied to real estate rental income or music revenue streams. The FSC’s commentary signals that certain provisions already generated industry resistance after the roadmap’s release, suggesting the consultation is unlikely to be a formality.

The distributed ledger requirements are the most contentious element so far. Every ledger used for electronic registration must include the Korea Securities Depository (KSD) as a participant, alongside at least two account management entities. Charging fees directly for ledger use is prohibited, on the basis that these networks function as a public register. The KSD has been developing plans over several years to maintain a node on each chain, in order to verify that issuances across multiple chains sum to expected totals, and the draft’s minimum participant threshold has the practical effect of limiting which chains can be used in production.