South Korea’s financial authorities are preparing a new set of rules for security tokens this month, keeping digital-asset policy and capital-markets reform on the agenda even after a recent pullback in the country’s stock market.
Officials said on July 24 that several policy measures are still lined up for the second half of the year. Alongside work on security token offerings, or STOs, the government is also pursuing steps tied to foreign investor access, IPO market reform and venture-investment support.
Security token framework nears next stage
The Financial Services Commission plans to publish subordinate regulations and detailed guidelines for security tokens this month. The release follows revisions to the Electronic Securities Act and the Capital Markets Act and is expected to define how the market will operate before the related law takes effect in February 2027.
According to the report, the package will set standards for which assets can be used in fractional investment products, establish disclosure requirements, outline the licensing structure for over-the-counter security-token exchanges and set investor trading limits.
The framework is seen as a central step in formalizing South Korea’s STO market. Market participants are looking to the guidance for a clearer roadmap on tokenization across a range of assets, including art, real estate and intellectual property, as well as traditional financial instruments such as stocks and bonds. The law itself is scheduled to come into force in February 2027, after the necessary infrastructure is established.
Broader capital-markets agenda remains active
Security-token policy is only one part of a wider package of financial-market reforms expected in the second half. Officials also pointed to follow-up measures related to the cornerstone investor system and an overhaul of rules governing venture investment.
The cornerstone investor system, approved by the National Assembly in April, still requires revisions to enforcement decrees and more detailed rules. Once implemented, the system is expected to broaden long-term participation by institutional investors and support improvements in IPO pricing as well as early post-listing price stability.
The report presents this as unfinished business in the effort to improve conditions in South Korea’s initial public offering market.
Foreign investor access still in focus
The Financial Services Commission is also continuing policies aimed at making the domestic market more accessible to overseas investors. Those efforts include plans to launch Korea Premium Week and expand English-language disclosures.
Authorities are also looking to make further use of the omnibus account system already introduced for foreign investors in order to improve market access. In parallel, the Korea Exchange is pursuing market-structure reforms and the expansion of digital-finance infrastructure, with securities tokenization listed among its medium- to long-term priorities.
Venture financing measures due later this year
A separate strand of follow-up legislation tied to venture investment is also expected in the second half of the year. The measures under discussion include broader tax support for venture investment and extending the lifespan of the fund of funds.
The stated goal is to strengthen long-term funding channels for startups and innovative companies, adding another policy track to a market agenda that extends beyond short-term movements in equities.
Taken together, the second-half policy calendar suggests South Korean authorities are still pushing ahead with structural market reforms despite the recent correction in stocks. Among those items, the expected security-token rules stand out as the most immediate milestone because they are set to clarify how tokenized investment products and related trading venues may operate ahead of the February 2027 legal start date.
Source: en.bloomingbit.io