BOK calls for oversight body to regulate stablecoins
In a recent submission to the policy planning committee under President Lee Jae Myung, the central bank suggested that any issuance of won-backed stablecoins should require consensus among relevant institutions, including the BOK itself.
While the BOK had remained wary over adopting a won-backed stablecoin, the committee has reportedly been pressuring the BOK to incorporate the digital asset.
'A pan-governmental regulatory response is necessary,' the BOK stated. 'A policy body consisting of relevant authorities should be considered.'
The BOK cited the Stablecoin Certification and Review Committee under the US Genius Act as a precedent to support its stance. The bill, passed by the US Senate, stipulates that only deposit-taking institutions, or simply banking entities, approved by the Federal Reserve may issue stablecoins.
To ensure a thorough vetting process, public companies that are not primarily engaged in financial services, or non-banking entities, should obtain unanimous approval from the committee to issue stablecoins.
The proposal marks a turn from the BOK's previous stance on stablecoins. The central bank had touted its pilot project for a central bank digital currency as a state-led alternative to private stablecoins, repeatedly citing concerns against the payment instrument in terms of operating monetary policy and foreign exchange rules.
But it recently backed down, putting the pilot test for tokenized deposit on a halt, citing 'regulatory uncertainty.'
Though the two digital currencies are not mutually exclusive, the growing support for stablecoins could cast doubt on the CBDC's role in digital payment landscape.
'Given this new demand, we definitely have to recalibrate the plan,' BOK Gov. Rhee Chang-yong said in a media interview earlier this month, referring to the momentum building up for won-denominated stablecoins.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Korea Herald
15 hours ago
- Korea Herald
Lee urges citizens to dine out as part of efforts to boost domestic demand
President Lee Jae Myung said Saturday that he hopes citizens would join a move to dine out as part of efforts to boost domestic demand. On Friday, Lee had dinner at a restaurant in central Seoul with his staff in a way to promote dining out to help small-sized brick-and-mortar restaurants and small merchants, overcome a slump amid sluggish domestic demand. "I personally hope citizens would visit nearby restaurants to promote and cheer on their businesses ... which will in turn revive the local economy and become an impetus for a bright future of South Korea," Lee said in a social media post. Lee's remarks came as the country will begin distributing cash handouts to all citizens on July 21 as part of a government initiative aimed at stimulating domestic consumption. All South Korean citizens residing in the country will receive a one-time payment of 150,000 won, depending on their income levels. Lee earlier instructed senior aides to draw up measures to maximize the effects of cash handouts, which is a part of an extra budget as a stimulus package to boost private consumption. (Yonhap)
Korea Herald
16 hours ago
- Korea Herald
ASEAN, regional partners call for 'complete denuclearization' of Korean Peninsula
Southeast Asian countries and Indo-Pacific partners, including South Korea and the United States, have called for efforts to achieve the "complete denuclearization" of the Korean Peninsula, a joint statement showed Saturday, as they concluded this week's multilateral gathering led by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. The chair's statement from the ASEAN Regional Forum, released Friday, also underscored the need to resume dialogue among concerned parties for peace and stability, a call that comes at a time when South Korea is seeking to improve inter-Korean relations under the new government of President Lee Jae Myung. "The Meeting called for the full implementation of all relevant UNSC Resolutions and noted international efforts to bring about the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," the statement read. "The Meeting ... stressed the importance of resuming peaceful dialogue among all concerned parties in order to realize lasting peace and stability in a denuclearized Korean Peninsula," it said. The use of the word "complete" to describe the North's denuclearization contrasts with last year's statement that called for "complete, verifiable and irreversible" denuclearization -- language seen as carrying a stronger tone. The ARF statement released every year following the ASEAN meetings draws attention for how it reconciles the differing positions on key security issues among participating countries, which also include China, Russia and North Korea. The changes in the latest statement possibly suggest Seoul's softer approach in its inter-Korean policy. Lee has called for easing tensions between the two Koreas and pursuing dialogue with Pyongyang, while continuing to respond firmly to the North's nuclear and missile threats in coordination with the international community. First Vice Foreign Minister Park Yoon-joo, who attended this week's ASEAN meetings as the top representative, highlighted these calls throughout the venue. North Korea has severed all communication with the South amid the stalled nuclear talks, which collapsed without a deal in Hanoi in 2019. The participating countries also again voiced "grave concern" over North Korea's increasing missile launches that destabilize the Korean Peninsula, urging Pyongyang to fully comply with all relevant U.N. Security Council resolutions. The ARF is an expanded security forum joined by the 10 ASEAN member states, the United States, China, Japan, the European Union and other countries in South Asia and the Pacific, as well as North Korea. However, North Korea did not attend this year's session, its first absence from the forum since joining the gathering in 2000. (Yonhap)
Korea Herald
16 hours ago
- Korea Herald
S. Korea, US continue joint efforts to 'make progress' toward OPCON transition: Pentagon official
South Korea and the United States continue cooperation to "make progress" toward the transition of wartime operational control to Seoul, a Pentagon official said Friday, indicating that discussions on the major alliance issue are ongoing. The official made the remarks as new South Korean President Lee Jae Myung's administration seeks to retake it at a time when US President Donald Trump's administration has been urging allies to take a greater security burden while prioritizing deterring Chinese threats. "The U.S. and ROK continue to work together to make progress toward OPCON transition," the official told Yonhap News Agency. ROK is short for South Korea's official name, the Republic of Korea. The official added that the Pentagon has nothing to announce at this time. Seoul and Washington have been working on the "conditions-based" OPCON transfer. Conditions include South Korea's capabilities to lead combined Korea-US forces, its strike and air defense capabilities, and a regional security environment conducive to such a handover. During an interview with Yonhap News Agency in May last year, Elbridge Colby, currently under secretary of defense for policy, expressed his backing for the swift OPCON transition, saying the Asian ally should undertake "overwhelming" responsibility for its own defense. Retaking OPCON from Washington was among Lee's campaign pledges. On Wednesday, Wi Sung-lac, Lee's top security adviser, reiterated that the OPCON transition is one of Lee's pledges, while noting that past governments had also pursued the transfer. The public has been divided over the timing of the OPCON transition. Opponents have raised concerns that the OPCON transfer could lead to a weakening of America's security commitment at a time of deepening North Korean threats, while supporters agrue the transfer would bolster efforts to enhance South Korea's independent military capabilities and greater autonomy in the security alliance. South Korea handed over operational control of its troops to the US-led U.N. Command during the 1950-53 Korean War. Control was then transferred to the two allies' Combined Forces Command when the command was launched in 1978. Wartime operational control still remains in the U.S. hands, while South Korea retook peacetime OPCON in 1994. The OPCON transfer was supposed to occur in 2015 but was postponed, as the allies agreed in 2014 to a conditions-based handover -- rather than a timeline-based one -- due to Pyongyang's advancing nuclear and missile threats. (Yonhap)
