Adopting won-denominated stablecoins has the potential to cut down yearly transaction fees for South Korean business owners by amounts ranging from 370 billion won ($275 million) to 5.15 trillion won, according to a report from the National Assembly Budget Office.
The evaluation by the parliamentary budget office calculated these financial savings based on various scenarios regarding how much credit card volume transitions to stablecoin networks alongside the associated fee structures.
Stablecoins are digital assets engineered to mirror the price of external items like fiat money. A local currency-backed digital token would provide commercial enterprises in South Korea with a home-grown option in an ecosystem heavily governed by greenback-pegged tokens, which comprised 98.8% of the global $312.3 billion stablecoin sector as of July, the agency noted.
South Korea is currently formulating the regulatory framework to supervise this industry. The nation’s initial comprehensive digital asset safeguarding legislation became operational in July 2024, focusing on client funds and market manipulation.
Disagreements over authorized issuers have remained a core conflict. Past discussions divided the Bank of Korea and the Financial Services Commission, where the former advocated for institutions managed by banks holding a minimum 51% stake, while the latter cautioned that tight constraints might stifle technological progress.
The budget office further highlighted that capital flowing away from traditional bank accounts could diminish the credit-intermediating capacity of financial institutions. Furthermore, sudden redemption rushes could compel operators to liquidate backing reserves, potentially breaking the digital token’s peg and undermining trust in the currency system.
Additionally, the legislative budget agency recommended implementing mandatory reserve thresholds, capping incentive rewards linked to stablecoins, and enhancing surveillance on tokens capable of threatening overall economic security.
Beyond everyday retail transactions, stablecoins might find broader utility. The Financial Services Commission announced that South Korea intends to roll out tokenized financial assets beginning in February 2027, with subsequent phases integrating distributed ledger-based asset exchanges with stablecoin settlement systems.
This initiative develops concurrently with ongoing governmental research into how expanded stablecoin utilization might impact foreign exchange markets. A research paper released by the Bank of Korea earlier this month indicated that direct exchanges connecting domestic currencies with greenback stablecoins via Binance can depress local currency valuations.
The parliamentary analysis additionally observed that correlations connecting dollar stablecoins circulated in South Korea with broader markets—including bitcoin BTC, currency exchanges, equities, and borrowing rates—continue to be restricted. Nevertheless, the agency cautioned that those linkages could intensify during moments of political tension or widespread dollar appreciation.
Originally published at https://www.coindesk.com/business/2026/09/08/stablecoins-could-save-south-korean-merchants-up-to-usd3-8-billion-a-year-budget-office-says.
