On 10 November 2026, Golden Finance reported remarks made that day at a discussion at the Financial Investment Education Institute in Yeouido, Seoul, citing Yonhap News Agency.
Shim Eun-seop (沈恩燮), director of the Electronic Finance Inspection Bureau at the Financial Supervisory Service, said that if stablecoins are used as an electronic means of payment, applying the Electronic Financial Transactions Act is unavoidable. He tied that view to fairness with existing electronic payment methods, user protection, and the stability of payment and settlement.
He said that if the same payment-and-settlement transaction were covered by different laws according to the payment method, regulatory-arbitrage confusion could result. He suggested a small-sum licensing regime under the Act, together with obligations covering stability safeguards, drafting and filing of terms, protection of prepaid balances and settlement funds, protection of transaction information, and dispute handling.
Kim Bo-il (金保一), head of the Bank of Korea’s virtual-asset team, said at the same meeting that authorities need to consider how far a national payment system should depend on global private networks. He restated that stablecoin issuance should start with banks at the center, and that who may issue should be widened only after technical verification.
The report said a government bill for a Digital Asset Basic Act, expected to be released later that month, was expected to place stablecoin issuance with bank-led consortiums. That was described as an expectation about a draft, not as law already in force. The account does not set out reserve composition, redemption terms, or whether any review would be an attestation or an audit.
Source: Golden Finance, 10 November 2026, citing Yonhap at the link given in that report (https://www.yna.co.kr/view/AKR20261110153700002).
