South Korea pushes unified crypto law as tax repeal debated

South Korea's financial regulator is moving to consolidate a major digital asset regulatory framework while lawmakers debate whether to scrap an impending tax on cryptocurrency gains. The Financial Services Commission (FSC) announced plans to prepare a consolidated Digital Asset Basic Act with the ruling Democratic Party, a move intended to provide a central proposal for navigating a complex legislative landscape. Separately, the National Assembly's Finance and Economic Planning Committee was scheduled to consider an opposition bill on July 29 that seeks to repeal a planned cryptocurrency income tax.

The FSC's proposed bill aims to establish a comprehensive framework covering stablecoin issuance and circulation, digital asset business definitions and regulations, exchange entry standards, and requirements for disclosures, internal controls, and system resilience. The regulator stated that it intends to fold ten existing and pending digital asset bills into a single government-backed proposal, which would then serve as a main text for legislative negotiations. Key policy disagreements remain unresolved, including a central dispute over whether issuers of won-backed stablecoins...