South Korea’s Central Bank Reaffirms Bank-First Stablecoin Model

The Bank of Korea (BOK) has renewed its strong stance, urging that the issuance of Korean won-pegged stablecoins must be restricted to commercial banks. In a report to the National Assembly Strategy and Finance Committee, the BOK labeled these stablecoins as "currency-like substitutes" and warned that private issuance could undermine monetary policy, create foreign-exchange risks, and violate Korea's separation of banking and commerce principles. The central bank suggests banks, which adhere to strict standards, should lead the rollout, with any expansion to other entities being gradual following risk assessments. This debate is currently stalling the broader stablecoin framework legislation, where a key disagreement is over who should be eligible to issue these tokens. The BOK also proposed structural safeguards, including a bank-centered consortium model and an interagency policy body for supervision, citing the U.S. GENIUS Act framework as an example of cross-agency coordination.

(Source：Cointelegraph)