Seoul’s Stablecoin Ultimatum: Government Faces Dec. 10 Deadline as Bill Pushes Forward

South Korea draws a line in the regulatory sand.

The clock is ticking for lawmakers in Seoul. A new stablecoin bill just landed on the legislative docket, and it comes with a hard deadline: December 10. Miss it, and the government risks watching the future of finance get built somewhere else.

No More Waiting Room

This isn't another vague policy paper. The proposed legislation spells out clear rules for issuance, reserves, and redemption—the foundational stuff that turns crypto speculation into usable digital cash. It's a direct response to the global race for stablecoin dominance, and Seoul isn't willing to be a spectator.

The Real Deadline Isn't on the Calendar

The December 10 ultimatum is just the procedural trigger. The real pressure comes from the market itself. Major financial hubs from Singapore to the EU are already rolling out their frameworks. Every day of delay is a day Korean businesses lose potential ground—and a day traders might just flock to less scrupulous, offshore options. It’s the classic regulatory dilemma: move fast and risk imperfection, or move slow and become irrelevant.

Get this right, and South Korea could cement its status as a Web3 leader. Get it wrong—or get it late—and it's just another case of traditional finance playing catch-up while the digital economy laps it. Again.

Consortium model emerges, but no consensus yet

Rep. Kang Jun-hyun, secretary of the National Assembly’s Political Affairs Committee, said negotiators discussed a potential compromise: a bank-participating consortium. Under this model, stablecoins WOULD be issued by a joint entity involving banks and private companies, with banks likely holding a controlling stake.

“We comprehensively discussed various options, including the ‘consortium model,’” Kang said after the meeting. Discussions reportedly touched on one of the most contentious details — whether banks would need to hold more than 50% of the consortium’s shares, but attendees walked away without agreement.

An official from Kang’s office said lawmakers pushed regulators to MOVE quickly, emphasizing the need to balance the Bank of Korea’s insistence on monetary stability with the FSC’s desire to maintain room for innovation. The emerging idea resembles what some have dubbed a ‘Korean stablecoin’ model, in which banks ensure regulatory soundness while fintech firms build the technology.

The FSC, however, publicly downplayed the notion that anything had been decided, saying only that it had agreed to speed up preparation of a government bill and that “no specifics have been finalized.”

A deep divide between top regulators 

The impasse reflects a fundamental philosophical clash.

The Bank of Korea has long argued that stablecoins could challenge national monetary sovereignty if left to private tech firms, making bank-led issuance the safest path.

The FSC, along with several lawmakers, fears that excessive restrictions would suffocate Korea’s digital asset industry before it has the chance to compete globally.

This tug-of-war has kept the government from producing a unified bill for months.

A hard deadline: Dec.10

Frustrated with the pace, Kang made the ruling party’s position unmistakably clear: “I strongly urged the government to submit a draft government bill by December 10th. If the government plan doesn’t come by this deadline, I will drive it forward through a legislator-initiated bill.”

The party aims to introduce the bill during the current regular session and push it through an extraordinary session in January. Though Kang acknowledged that inter-agency coordination may continue into early next year, he emphasized that the legislative process itself will now accelerate.

Presidential influence and the push for a Won-based stablecoin

Stablecoin legislation has gained political weight this year after President Lee Jae Myung made the development of a Korean-won stablecoin market one of his early policy priorities. 

His administration views a domestic stablecoin as a way to safeguard the won’s role in digital finance at a time when U.S. dollar-based stablecoins, especially Tether’s USDT, dominate markets worldwide.

Several lawmakers have already introduced bills, but the lack of consensus among regulators has prevented meaningful movement.

Why this matters for South Korea

The debate over stablecoin rules may sound technical, but the outcome will shape the future of Korea’s financial system. Clear regulations would finally give local companies the confidence to build stablecoin products at home instead of watching global competitors surge ahead.

Other major economies, from the U.S. to the EU and Japan, are already moving forward with their own stablecoin frameworks. If South Korea continues to drag its feet, it could lose ground in an industry that is rapidly becoming a Core part of global digital finance. 

Without firm rules in place, Korean firms are left navigating uncertainty, while foreign stablecoins, especially dollar-pegged ones, gain even more influence in the domestic market.

Stablecoins also represent the next major infrastructure LAYER for payments, digital commerce, and tokenized financial products. Whether Korea chooses a bank-dominated system or a shared model with fintechs will determine how quickly and how boldly its digital asset ecosystem can grow.

Industry reaction: Cautious optimism

Despite the lack of a final agreement, the industry has welcomed signs that legislators are finally moving past gridlock. A bank-participating consortium is viewed by many as a pragmatic compromise capable of addressing both stability concerns and the need for innovation.

With the Dec. 10 deadline looming, South Korea now stands at a pivotal moment: either the government produces a unified vision, or lawmakers will bring their own — and the long-debated future of Korean stablecoins will begin taking shape in Parliament instead of the ministries.

Also Read: Sony Bank plans U.S. Stablecoin Launch by 2026