South Korea Plans to Update State Asset Law, Include Digital Assets and Tokenize Bonds

South Korea plans to adopt the National Asset Basic Act to replace the outdated State Property Act of 1950, modernizing the management of national assets. According to Cointelegraph, the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MOEF) announced during a briefing at the President's Blue House that the reform explicitly includes digital assets and intellectual property, broadening the definition of state assets. As part of the update, the ministry reiterated plans to tokenize government bonds on a blockchain to reduce transaction costs, with a 2027 pilot project scheduled. It also plans to explore the tokenization of state-owned real estate to encourage retail participation and share generated returns with the public. The move represents a significant regulatory development for South Korea, which has one of the world's most active retail crypto markets. The framework aims to shift state property management from a legacy, real estate-focused model to a new value-creation approach. On Tuesday, South Korea's government unveiled its 2026 Economic Growth Strategy for the Second Half, which includes a 2027 pilot linking tokenized government bonds to its central bank digital currency (CBDC) infrastructure. The plan requires authorities to study interoperability between the Bank of Korea's (BOK) CBDC infrastructure and other blockchains, an idea first outlined publicly on July 1 by BOK Governor Hyun Song Shin at the European Central Bank Forum on Central Banking. Authorities plan to introduce measures later this year and said the pilot would form part of a broader effort to create a "blockchain economy." On April 16, the MOEF announced a pilot project using tokenized deposits for government operational spending, with a full rollout set for the fourth quarter of 2026. Changes to South Korea's Capital Markets Act and Electronic Securities Act, the country's first tokenized securities framework, are scheduled to take full effect on Feb. 4, 2027. The framework will legally recognize blockchain-ledgers as valid securities registries, bringing tokenized assets under the Financial Services Commission's jurisdiction out of their experimental stage.