South Korea Amends Tokenized Securities Framework - Coinspeaker

Key Notes

• On January 15, South Korea’s national legislature passed amendments for its security token offerings.
• The amendments were for the Capital Markets Act and the Electronic Securities Act.
• This comes as several governments make intentional efforts towards regulating crypto.

South Korea’s lawmakers have made significant progress with the establishment of a framework for security token offerings (STOs).

Recently, the national legislature voted to pass amendments governing tokenized securities, creating a regulated pathway for the issuance and trading of blockchain-based securities in the country.

South Korea Government Intensifies Crypto Regulation

South Korea’s National Assembly has passed amendments to the Capital Markets Act and the Electronic Securities Act.

The amendments, passed during the January 15 plenary session, define tokenized securities as a broad category encompassing all types of securities, including both debt and equity instruments.

Related article: South Korea Mulling Account Freezes for Traders Manipulating Crypto Market: ReportAccording to the South Korean government, it should be beneficial for non-standardized investment contract securities.

These projects include real estate, art, and livestock investments, which were previously restricted in distribution.

The new legislation, known as the Electronic Securities Act, formalizes the issuance and trading of tokenized securities using blockchain technology.

With the latest amendments, qualified issuers are allowed to launch tokenized securities. There is also the Capital Markets Act, whose amendments allow the above-mentioned products to be traded as investment contract securities on brokerages.

They could also be sold on other intermediaries. In an official government release, the Financial Services Commission (FSC) stated its expectation.

“We expect token securities to enable distributed ledger-based securities account management and greater utilization of smart contracts,” the FSC explained. “We also anticipate more active use of smart contracts in blockchain-based securities infrastructure.”

South Korea and Other Countries Step Up Crypto Regulation

From here, the bills will be moved to the state council, after which they will be signed by the president.

At this point, there is a high likelihood the country will pass the laws, which will take effect in January 2027, marking a one-year preparation period.

South Korea’s action highlights the growing focus governments worldwide are placing on regulating their crypto sectors.

These governments are no longer debating whether crypto should be regulated, but how far control should go.

This issue gained urgency after 2022, when the broader crypto industry was shaken by the Terra-Luna collapse.

As the new bill takes shape, South Korea is also planning to introduce spot crypto Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) as part of its 2026 Economic Growth Strategy.

The government attested that its decision is inspired by the active spot Bitcoin ETF trading in the United States and Hong Kong.

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