August Extraordinary National Assembly, STO Legislation Takes Off [Crypto Briefing]

[Financial News] The legislation of token securities (STO) will begin the full-fledged legislative process at the August extraordinary National Assembly. The National Assembly is starting to review related bills, and financial authorities are speeding up institutionalization by promoting STO as a funding method for small and venture businesses.
According to the National Assembly and the industry on the 3rd, the July extraordinary National Assembly is scheduled to conclude on the 5th, and the August extraordinary National Assembly will be convened the next day, the 6th. Accordingly, the National Assembly's Political Affairs Committee will review amendments to the Capital Market Act and the Electronic Securities Act, including STO, in the first subcommittee on bill review.
Token securities are financial products that can be legally traded by issuing digital tokens based on blockchain for physical or financial assets and being recognized as 'securities' under the Capital Market Act.
Previously, the Political Affairs Committee's bill review subcommittee decided to prioritize STO-related bills at the August extraordinary National Assembly during the first meeting held on the 21st of last month. A Political Affairs Committee official stated, "In the bill subcommittee to be held this month, STO-related laws will be prioritized, leading to focused discussions," adding, "It is highly likely to pass through the full committee meeting of the Political Affairs Committee afterward."
The National Policy Planning Committee is also reviewing a plan to include STO in the national tasks to be announced this month. The National Policy Planning Committee noted that due to the delay in STO legislation compared to the initial plan, related investments and workforce sizes are rapidly shrinking, indicating the need for prompt legislation.
The Financial Services Commission also reportedly proposed the 'introduction of STO' as a new funding method for small and venture businesses during the National Policy Planning Committee report. The Capital Market Strategy Planning Division has been newly established, and amendments to the Capital Market Act enforcement decree for fractional investment platforms have been pre-announced.
An industry official said, "If the STO bill is processed in August, it will also accelerate the subsequent digital asset legislation, such as the Korean won stablecoin and virtual asset spot ETFs," explaining, "The reason STO is the first to be legislated among the three major virtual asset tasks is that it is linked to physical assets, providing a clear value base and being recognized as securities under the Capital Market Act, with investor protection measures in place."
The U.S. government is also leading the institutionalization of stablecoins and virtual asset spot ETFs, and is accelerating STO, focusing on the private market.
Paul Atkins, a commissioner of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), recently presented policy directions for the tokenization of traditional securities such as stocks and bonds. Commissioner Atkins emphasized, "Requests for tokenization are pouring in from major financial firms on Wall Street to unicorn companies in Silicon Valley," and "requested SEC staff to cooperate with companies promoting the distribution of tokenized securities."
elikim@fnnews.com Kim Mi-hee Reporter