South Korea's Ministry of Finance and Economy has reiterated its commitment to growing the local blockchain and digital asset economy, despite a stronger emphasis on AI development.
At Monday's State Council meeting, the ministry outlined plans to foster the blockchain economy as part of the country's economic growth strategy for the second half of 2026. These include promoting large-scale blockchain pilot projects and new technologies to strengthen competitiveness in the digital asset ecosystem.
To expand the use of blockchain in financial infrastructure, the government plans to launch a pilot project for tokenizing government bonds linked to an institutional central bank digital currency (CBDC) project, slated for 2027. The Bank of Korea will also examine ways to ensure interoperability between the CBDC and other blockchains.
In an effort to boost the private digital asset sector, South Korean authorities will advance the proposed Digital Asset Basic Act for enactment in the second half of the year. The legislation, which has been in the works since mid-2025, is expected to lay out the basic legal framework for digital assets, including rules of business conduct and a set of rules for Korean won-pegged stablecoins.
