# South Korea Urged to Shape Global Crypto Rules as New Policy Institute Launches By Sonny Kwon Canonical URL: https://www.tokenpost.com/news/insights/42458 Published: 2026-10-28T08:21:14.000Z Updated: 2026-10-28T08:21:14.000Z Section: Insights & Views > Seoul Crypto Institute outlines a strategy to turn the nation's manufacturing strength into influence over digital finance, trade settlement and AI-driven commerce. Key Takeaways - New Seoul-based institute seeks to connect blockchain research with legislation, industry pilots and international standards. - Experts warn that reliance on foreign stablecoins and payment networks could expose weaknesses in Korea's export-driven economy. - AI agents and tokenized assets are emerging as potential drivers of new payment infrastructure and digital-content business models. SEOUL, Oct. 28, 2026 — South Korea should leverage its manufacturing prowess to play a bigger role in shaping the rules governing global digital finance, according to legal and financial experts gathered at the launch of a new private-sector policy institute in Seoul. The Seoul Crypto Institute, or SCI, unveiled its vision for what it calls “G3 Korea” at an inaugural seminar Wednesday, arguing that the country's competitive advantages in semiconductors, automobiles and shipbuilding could be extended into blockchain-based payments, tokenized capital markets and artificial intelligence. The initiative comes as governments and financial institutions increasingly explore how stablecoins and digital assets could reshape cross-border commerce and financial infrastructure. At the event, held at the Centropolis complex in central Seoul, speakers outlined opportunities for South Korea to reduce its dependence on foreign financial infrastructure while developing policies that allow domestic businesses to compete internationally. The discussion marked an effort by private-sector specialists to move the country's crypto debate beyond trading rules and investor protection toward broader questions of economic competitiveness. ## From Manufacturing Power to Financial Rulemaker Park Jong-baek, the founding head of SCI and a partner at law firm Bae, Kim & Lee, said South Korea's industrial achievements haven't translated into comparable influence over the international financial system. “Can we move beyond being a country that manufactures world-class products to one that writes the rules of a new economic order?” Park asked during his keynote address. ![Park Jong-baek, founding head of the Seoul Crypto Institute, delivers a keynote address during the institute's inaugural seminar in central Seoul on Oct. 28, 2026. The event examined South Korea's role in digital finance, trade settlement and emerging blockchain infrastructure. Photo: TokenPost.]() Park Jong-baek, founding head of the Seoul Crypto Institute, delivers a keynote address during the institute's inaugural seminar in central Seoul on Oct. 28, 2026. The event examined South Korea's role in digital finance, trade settlement and emerging blockchain infrastructure. Photo: TokenPost SCI's proposed “G3 Korea” vision doesn't refer to becoming the world's third-largest economy by gross domestic product. Instead, it envisions South Korea emerging as an influential economic player alongside the US and China by combining its industrial capabilities with digital technologies and modern financial infrastructure. Park identified three priorities: digitizing manufacturing and international trade, modernizing capital markets through asset tokenization, and establishing the legal and technical infrastructure needed for digital-asset transactions. Stablecoins, he said, could evolve beyond their current role in cryptocurrency trading to become an important component of international payments and trade settlement. Tokenization could similarly change how securities and other assets are issued, transferred and settled, provided that legal ownership and investor protections are clearly established. Park also highlighted the potential convergence of AI and blockchain technology. As AI agents increasingly negotiate transactions, place orders and execute payments on behalf of users and businesses, shared financial infrastructure may become necessary to verify authority, establish trust and transfer value between participants. Not all AI transactions would require blockchain technology, Park acknowledged, but transactions spanning multiple companies, institutions and jurisdictions could benefit from interoperable settlement systems. SCI aims to operate as an “action tank,” moving beyond conventional policy research to develop legislative proposals, coordinate industry experiments and work with international institutions. ## Stablecoin Competition Creates Strategic Risks Kang Hyung-koo, a professor at Hanyang University's School of Business (Vice head of SCI), said digital finance is becoming a growing arena for technological and geopolitical competition. The US is drawing on the strengths of Wall Street and Silicon Valley to promote private-sector stablecoin infrastructure, while China is pursuing a different approach centered on its digital currency initiatives and financial networks, Kang said. ![Hanyang University professor Kang Hyung-koo speaks on South Korea's strategic challenges amid global supply-chain restructuring at the Seoul Crypto Institute's inaugural seminar on Oct. 28, 2026. Photo: TokenPost.]() Hanyang University professor Kang Hyung-koo speaks on South Korea's strategic challenges amid global supply-chain restructuring at the Seoul Crypto Institute's inaugural seminar on Oct. 28, 2026. Photo: TokenPost Financial hubs including Singapore, Hong Kong and Dubai are also seeking positions in the emerging market. South Korea, meanwhile, has devoted considerable attention to questions such as whether banks should control stablecoin issuance and how ownership of cryptocurrency exchanges should be regulated. Kang compared those domestic debates to the philosophical disputes of Korea's late Joseon period, prompting some laughter from the audience. His broader concern was that a focus on ownership and regulatory structures could distract policymakers from the economic implications of the global shift toward digital settlement. Cross-border payments are an immediate example. Kang argued that blockchain-based stablecoin transfers could reduce the time and cost associated with traditional international banking channels, particularly for exporters and multinational companies. Using an illustrative comparison of a conventional payment requiring five days and costing 5%, he suggested that businesses unable to access more efficient settlement technology could face a competitive disadvantage comparable to imposing a tariff on themselves. Actual international payment costs vary considerably by corridor, institution and transaction structure. Stablecoin transfers also involve foreign-exchange, liquidity, compliance and other expenses. Still, Kang's argument pointed to a broader concern for South Korea's export-oriented economy: the risk of falling behind as trading partners adopt more efficient financial networks. There is also a competing risk. If Korean companies increasingly rely on dollar-denominated stablecoins, payment efficiency could improve while dependence on foreign financial infrastructure deepens. Kang described such vulnerabilities as economic “chokepoints,” warning that greater use of payment networks outside domestic banking channels could complicate the monitoring of capital flows and introduce new challenges for monetary authorities. Rather than restricting foreign technology, South Korea should develop competitive digital-payment infrastructure of its own, he said. ## Corporate Payments Offer Another Opportunity Kang also identified multinational corporate treasury operations as a potential early application for tokenized settlement. Large Korean manufacturers operate extensive overseas networks, moving funds among subsidiaries, suppliers and business partners across multiple jurisdictions. Tokenized deposits and blockchain-based payment infrastructure could simplify some of those transfers, improve liquidity management and reduce operational costs. Citing research based on publicly available corporate information, Kang estimated that more efficient internal settlement systems could create economic benefits worth approximately 2 trillion won ($1.4 billion at an illustrative exchange rate of 1,400 won per dollar) annually across Korean businesses. The figure represents a research estimate presented at the seminar rather than a verified forecast of realized savings. Kang noted that major international financial institutions are already developing proprietary blockchain networks and tokenized deposit systems for institutional clients. Without a clearer domestic regulatory framework, Korean companies could find themselves purchasing foreign-developed systems rather than building competing infrastructure. ## AI Agents Could Transform the Economics of News and Content The seminar also explored how AI could change digital commerce, particularly the economics of online content. Kang predicted that AI agents will increasingly perform tasks now handled directly by consumers, including searching for information, accessing digital services and making payments. Such a shift could challenge two pillars of the internet economy: advertising and subscriptions. News publishers, for example, typically monetize content through reader visits, advertising impressions or recurring subscriptions. But AI agents could retrieve information from numerous sources without sending users to the original websites. That would raise questions about how publishers and other content creators are compensated for the information AI systems consume. Kang suggested that machine-to-machine micropayments could offer one potential solution, pointing to the x402 payment protocol as an example of technology designed to facilitate automated transactions. Under such models, an AI agent could pay small amounts for individual data requests or pieces of content rather than purchasing multiple subscriptions. The implications extend beyond journalism to music, entertainment, software and other digital goods. Kang cited South Korea's experience in the MP3 industry, where domestic manufacturers became prominent suppliers of music players but ultimately lost influence over the broader digital-music ecosystem as companies such as Apple and global streaming services established new distribution models. The lesson, he argued, is that leadership in technology or hardware doesn't necessarily translate into control over platforms, distribution or revenue. As AI-generated content proliferates, intellectual-property rights, licensing and automated royalty payments could become increasingly important. Tokenization and programmable payments may offer tools for managing those rights, although copyright enforcement, legal recognition and commercial adoption remain unresolved challenges. For news organizations, the debate highlights a growing question: how to sustain original reporting when information is increasingly consumed and redistributed through AI systems rather than traditional publishing platforms. ## A Private-Sector Push for Policy Reform The launch event also featured remarks from Kim Sang-soo, deputy secretary-general of South Korea's National Assembly Secretariat, and Cho Kyung-sik, a former vice minister of science and ICT. Kim emphasized the importance of linking the country's manufacturing capabilities with innovation in finance and digital technology. Cho described AI as a technology capable of creating new economic value and blockchain as a potential means of supporting trusted exchanges of that value. SCI said it intends to bring together specialists in financial markets, international trade, manufacturing, law and emerging technologies to develop policy recommendations and industry demonstrations. Its establishment reflects a broader push to engage private-sector expertise in shaping Korea's digital-asset regulatory framework. TokenPost has repeatedly highlighted the importance of viewing cryptocurrency and blockchain development in the context of wider changes to financial markets, digital commerce and industrial competitiveness. The launch of SCI represents a welcome effort to translate those discussions into policy proposals and practical initiatives outside the traditional government-led process. Its effectiveness, however, will depend on whether the institute can maintain independence, balance innovation with financial safeguards and turn research into workable regulatory changes. ## Korea's Next Competitive Challenge South Korea built its position in the global economy through manufacturing, exports and technological innovation. The next phase of competition may increasingly depend on the systems through which products, services and economic value are exchanged. Stablecoins, tokenized assets and AI-driven payment networks are still evolving, with regulatory frameworks and commercial standards far from settled. That uncertainty creates both risks and opportunities for countries seeking a stronger role in the global financial system. For South Korea, the challenge is to connect its existing industrial strengths with the infrastructure and rules that will govern new forms of digital commerce. SCI's launch marks a private-sector effort to advance that agenda. Its next test will be turning research into legislation and practical industry applications that could give South Korea a greater voice in shaping the emerging digital economy.