South Korea Plans Three-Stage Tokenized Securities Rollout From 2027

Tokenization records ownership of assets such as stocks, bonds and funds on distributed ledgers, potentially linking issuance, trading and settlement on shared digital infrastructure. The initiative matters in South Korea, one of the world’s most active retail investment markets, where 11.3 million people are verified crypto users. The Financial Services Commission, or FSC, sees the plan as a shift beyond fractional-investment products toward a broader digital capital-market system.

The FSC and Financial Supervisory Service unveiled a three-stage roadmap on Sept. 4. Phase one is due to begin in February 2027, covering money-market funds and bonds for institutional investors, unlisted shares held through trusts and publicly offered fractional-investment securities. Phase two would extend tokenization to all publicly offered securities, while phase three would build onchain payment infrastructure linked to stablecoins. Individual subscriptions will be capped at the lower of 30 million won ($22,000) or 5% of an issuance; issuers operating their own securities accounts must hold at least $3 million in equity capital.