South Korean Lawmaker Sets Jan. 9, 2027 Deadline for Digital Asset Bill

South Korean lawmaker Min Byung-deok has urged the National Assembly to pass the Digital Asset Basic Act by Jan. 9, 2027 — nine days before a U.S. stablecoin regime is scheduled to take effect on Jan. 18, 2027.

Speaking at a policy discussion on Nov. 13, Min said South Korea should finish the bill by his proposed deadline so the country's framework is in place before Washington's rules start. The timing, in his view, determines whether Korean issuers compete on equal footing or react to standards written abroad.

What did Min propose for stablecoin issuance?

Min opposed restricting won-denominated stablecoin issuance to consortia in which banks hold more than half of the ownership. Instead, he argued, any issuer should qualify if it meets two conditions: maintaining 100% reserves and offering immediate redemption.

That position cuts against a bank-led structure that would concentrate issuance among financial incumbents. Under Min's standard, non-bank firms could issue won stablecoins directly, provided the reserves stay fully backed and holders can redeem on demand. The 100%-reserve requirement mirrors the backing model embedded in the U.S. regime and in existing frameworks elsewhere.

His package included three further measures:

• Creating a digital asset committee operating under the president
• Delaying the start of crypto taxation to 2029
• Allowing a three-year loss carryforward for crypto investors

The loss-carryforward proposal would let traders offset future gains with losses over a rolling three-year window — a treatment that aligns crypto with standard tax practice in many jurisdictions rather than taxing each profitable trade in isolation.

Where does the crypto tax stand now?

South Korea's crypto tax remains scheduled to begin in 2027. A separate bill that would move the start date to Jan. 1, 2029 — introduced by Kim Sang-hoon and 11 other lawmakers — was referred to committee on Aug. 31 and is still pending.

The 2027 date is the fourth attempt at a launch. South Korea adopted its crypto tax framework in 2020, initially aiming for a 2022 start. The government pushed that to 2023, then to 2025, then to 2027. Each delay reflected unresolved questions over reporting infrastructure, exchange data-sharing and investor protections, and the Kim Sang-hoon bill suggests a fifth shift to 2029 remains on the table.

Why does the U.S. timeline matter?

Min's Jan. 9 target is not arbitrary. The U.S. stablecoin regime takes effect Jan. 18, 2027, and rules set in that market will shape reserve, redemption and disclosure norms that Korean issuers and regulators can't ignore. Passing the Digital Asset Basic Act first would give Seoul a domestic legal basis — covering who may issue, on what reserve terms and under which supervisory body — before those external standards harden.

The proposed presidential digital asset committee would also create a single coordination point for a sector currently split across the Financial Services Commission, the Bank of Korea and tax authorities.

The National Assembly's window is narrow: Min's deadline lands before the current legislative schedule ends, and the Kim Sang-hoon tax bill must clear committee before any 2029 date can be locked in.