South Korea unveils three-phase roadmap for tokenized securities launching in 2027

Sep 4, 2026

South Korea's Financial Services Commission has unveiled a three-phase roadmap to transition its capital market infrastructure to distributed ledger technology, starting February 4, 2027. Phase One legally recognizes blockchain registries for institutional funds, bonds, and unlisted equities. While the final phase aims to enable atomic delivery-versus-payment via won-denominated stablecoins, this endgame remains stalled by a legislative deadlock between the Bank of Korea and the FSC over stablecoin issuer licensing.

South Korea tokenized securities roadmap

▪South Korea's Financial Services Commission committed on September 4, 2026 to a three-phase roadmap to tokenize stocks, bonds, and funds on distributed ledger technology.
▪Samsung SDS is under contract to build the Korea Securities Depository's tokenized securities management platform, targeted for completion by February 2027.
▪The Financial Services Commission plans to publish proposed revisions to subordinate regulations under the Capital Markets Act and Electronic Registration Act by the end of September 2026.

Three-phase implementation timeline

▪Phase Two of the roadmap will expand tokenization to all publicly offered securities, including listed stocks, depending on Phase One results and market technical capacity.
▪Phase One of the roadmap launches on February 4, 2027, when amendments to the Electronic Registration Act take effect, legally recognizing distributed ledgers as valid securities registries.
▪Phase One covers institutional money market funds, corporate bonds, unlisted equity via trust structures, and publicly offered fractional investment securities.

Stablecoin settlement infrastructure

▪South Korea's stablecoin framework remains stalled under the Digital Asset Basic Act due to a regulatory dispute between the Bank of Korea and the Financial Services Commission over issuer licensing.
▪Phase Three of the roadmap aims to introduce on-chain payments linked to stablecoins to enable atomic delivery-versus-payment settlement.

Financial institution licensing requirements

▪Firms applying as 'issuer account management entities' to manage their own tokenized accounts must hold at least 4 billion won in equity capital and meet specific IT staffing and cybersecurity standards.
▪The Financial Services Commission capped retail OTC exchange purchases at 100 million won annually, and individual subscriptions at the lower of 30 million won or 5% of the issuance volume.
▪Existing licensed financial investment companies will not require a separate license to handle tokenized securities within their current permitted business scope.

Hanwha Avalanche platform development

▪Hanwha Investment & Securities plans to launch its Digital Asset Platform in the first half of 2027, initially targeting high-net-worth individuals and family offices in overseas markets.
▪Hanwha Investment & Securities developed a tokenized securities platform called the Digital Asset Platform on the Avalanche and Hyperledger Besu networks in partnership with FairSquare Lab.

Debatable claims

▪Replacing centralized securities registries with distributed ledgers poses unacceptable systemic risks
▪South Korea should restrict stablecoin issuance to bank-majority consortia
▪South Korea's retail investment limits on tokenized securities are overly restrictive