South Korea Expands Tokenized Securities Plan to Bonds and Funds

South Korea is preparing to expand tokenized securities beyond fragmented investments in real estate and art, bringing bonds and funds into the framework as the country builds a broader digital-asset market.

Proposed subordinate rules under the Electronic Securities Act and Capital Markets Act would include traditional securities such as stocks, bonds and funds among eligible tokenized assets. The legislative notice period began Oct. 2 and is scheduled to run through Nov. 11, with the revisions planned to take effect Feb. 4, 2027.

The initial rollout would focus on institutional investors. Planned products include private money-market funds, private bonds and tokenized shares of unlisted companies held through trusts. Authorities also plan to pilot securities offering fractional exposure to public-market assets.

Retail investors could gain access to public bonds and funds after the market stabilizes. The proposed framework would cap each retail investor’s annual net purchases on an over-the-counter trading platform at 100 million won per platform.

Nonfinancial firms could also manage investor accounts directly if they meet requirements including at least 4 billion won in capital.