South Korea targets September 2026 reintroduction of won stablecoin legislation

South Korea’s ruling Democratic Party and financial regulators agreed on 20 July 2026 to push for an accelerated reintroduction of the Framework Act on Digital Assets (DABA) in September 2026. The Political Affairs Committee’s bill subcommittee is committed to meeting at minimum twice a month across the second half of 2026, a cadence designed to clear outstanding structural disputes before the window closes.

The central sticking point is the so-called 51 per cent rule: a proposed requirement that any won stablecoin be issued through a bank-led consortium holding a majority stake of 50 per cent plus one share. The Bank of Korea backs this structure on the basis that granting non-bank entities the right to issue won-denominated stablecoins would risk monetary disruption, a position that continues to block consensus among legislators and market participants.

The urgency is explicitly competitive. Regulators and lawmakers are framing the accelerated schedule against the US GENIUS Act, which carries a January 2027 implementation date. The concern is that regulated dollar stablecoins could reach Korean retail and institutional markets before a domestic won alternative has legal standing, effectively ceding first-mover advantage in the local currency stablecoin space to US issuers. Whether the September reintroduction date holds will depend largely on whether the consortium ownership dispute can be resolved within the fortnightly review cycle.