[REVISION HISTORY]

South Korea expands crypto oversight and STO roadmap

16 recorded revisions of this situation.

What changed

2026-09-22 01:32 UTC → 2026-10-02 15:44 UTC · added ~~removed~~

South Korea expands crypto ~~oversight,~~ oversight and STO roadmap ~~and 2027 |~~

Since June 2026, South Korea has aggressively expanded its crypto-regulatory framework. The cabinet amended the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act, requiring overseas transfer firms to register with the Bank of Korea and report transactions in real-time. Regulatory oversight has intensified, with the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) moving to abolish the 1 million won threshold for the ‘Travel Rule,’ requiring sender and receiver information for all virtual asset transfers. New rules also strengthen the screening of major shareholders for digital asset service providers and require corporations to maintain a debt-to-equity ratio below 200%. To limit offshore liquidity flows, authorities are implementing stricter transfer restrictions, including requiring exchanges to collect detailed user information and enhanced monitoring for transfers exceeding 10 million won. Additionally, access to several unregistered derivative platforms is being restricted on the local Google Play Store. To combat unfair trading, the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) has launched an automated surveillance process using generative AI and machine learning. In September 2026, the Financial Services Commission (FSC) detailed a three-stage roadmap to expand security token offerings (STO) to include traditional stocks, bonds, and funds. ~~This transition, tied to amendments~~ Following this, the FSC proposed a regulatory framework to allow the ~~Electronic Registration Act,~~ issuance and circulation of tokenized securities starting February 4, 2027. The rollout will ~~begin with institutional-only products like~~ initially focus on private ~~money market funds (MMF), corporate~~ money-market funds, institutional bonds, ~~and~~ trust-based tokenization of unlisted stocks, ~~eventually aiming for~~ and publicly offered fractional-investment securities. To ensure stability, companies managing customer accounts directly must maintain at least 4 billion won in equity capital and employ dedicated compliance and technology staff. The framework also introduces an ~~on-chain payment infrastructure using stablecoins. As the industry moves toward this roadmap, securities~~ over-the-counter (OTC) exchange license for debt securities, with a 100 million won annual net purchase limit for retail investors. Securities firms are ~~expanding their digital service offerings.~~ actively preparing for this transition. Eugene Investment & Securities is conducting a Proof of Concept (PoC) with Bitoz to test using stablecoins for settling token security subscription payments. ~~Meanwhile,~~ Shinhan Securities has signed a memorandum of understanding with Blueard and the Lotte Future Strategy Research Institute to develop business models for content-based investment contract securities and token securities.

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