The chairman of the South Korean Financial Committee supports the formulation of stablecoin regulatory policies as soon as possible, but is concerned about the strong performance of the US dollar

Odaily reports that the chairman of the Financial Services Commission (FSC) of South Korea, Kim Byung-hwan, stated that the country needs to "quickly" take action to regulate stablecoins, but is concerned about the "strength" of the US dollar. Kim Byung-hwan said: "I also think that the regulation of stablecoins needs to be quickly established, but we need to consider the current strength of the US dollar, which is influenced by potential macroeconomic factors, including the strong performance of the US economy." These remarks seem to suggest that the FSC still hopes to introduce stablecoin regulatory provisions later this year. Lawmakers and financial regulators are currently drafting the "second phase" of the Virtual Asset User Protection Act, a cryptocurrency-related legislation that will take effect in mid-2024. Cryptocurrency advocates hope that the regulatory authorities will include provisions on stablecoin regulation in this new law. Major companies in South Korea hope to launch stablecoins pegged to the US dollar in the near future, as many companies are concerned about falling behind their tech competitors in the US and other places in issuing stablecoins. However, the regulatory authorities have been delaying on this issue, possibly due to the ongoing political uncertainty regarding the presidential position. Yoon Han-hong, a member of the People Power Party and chairman of the National Assembly's Political Affairs Committee, stated: "To issue stablecoins, South Korean companies need to purchase US Treasuries. This means they need to provide US dollars to the federal government. This means that the US dollars are flowing back to the US government and essentially disappearing. But our financial regulatory authorities have been too dismissive of this concern."