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- Lawmaker warns stablecoin delays could weaken South Korea’s payment sovereignty.
- Dollar-backed stablecoins already influence trade and business payments in Korea.
- Min urges fast, bank-led regulation to shape stablecoin use before standards lock in.
A South Korean lawmaker has urged swift action on stablecoin regulation, warning that delays could weaken the country’s control over payments. He said global standards are shifting fast, and Korea risks falling behind. Without clear rules, foreign digital currencies could shape trade and settlements before domestic policy catches up.
The call came from Representative Min Byoung-dug of the Democratic Party of Korea. He spoke at the final session of the eighth Global Business Forum in Seoul, hosted by Herald Business. Min urged the government to work closely with banks and established financial firms. He said cooperation is critical to legalize and scale stablecoin use.
Min serves on the National Assembly’s Political Affairs Committee. He is also a key voice in Korea’s crypto policy debate. He said stablecoins are no longer optional or experimental. In his view, the focus must shift to speed and execution.
Stablecoins Reshape Cross-Border Payments and Trade
He referred to stablecoins as instruments that already exist in the world of global finance. They facilitate remittances, cross-border settlements, and trade. Min explained that companies like them since they save them time and money. He claimed that the debate on policy is behind the reality.
Min pointed to a fast increase in U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoins. These are the tokens that have found circulation in global trade. He cautioned that not allowing a won-backed stablecoin would undermine the monetary sovereignty of Korea. The dollar tokens, he said, will begin to behave as internationally accepted money.
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He described how stablecoins are superior to traditional payment rails in the important aspects. The transactions are made quicker and cheaper. These benefits are forcing businesses to use them without regulation. Min stated that Korean companies that are trading abroad will soon be left with no option but to pay with dollar stablecoins.
Korean Firms Explore Stablecoins for Routine Transactions
It is already showing signs of this change at home. Min has mentioned that there are small Korean companies that currently compensate the foreigners with dollar-related stablecoins. They do it upon request from the workers. Other companies are experimenting with stablecoins for international payments to make things easier.
Min cautioned that when these practices become usual, it becomes hard to reverse them. Standards of payment, he added, are easy to entrap. This is when monetary control begins to diminish. He asked regulators to take action before foreign stablecoins become entrenched.
South Korea is yet to make a complete digital asset ecosystem. The regulators have principally concentrated on the consumer protection and anti-money laundering legislation. The measures are in line with the Virtual Assets User Protection Act. Their goal is to minimize user and financial risks.
According to Min, those precaution measures are incomplete. He claimed that national strategy and competitiveness also need to be covered in the policy of stablecoin. In his opinion, stablecoins have become an indelible part of finance. He called upon policymakers to create their role rather than responding to it.
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