Bank of Korea Governor: ”Cautious about allowing stablecoins to non-banks... Concerned about circumvention of capital controls”

On the 2nd, Bank of Korea Governor Lee Chang-yong reiterated his cautious stance on the introduction of won-denominated stablecoins, News 1 reported.
They emphasized the need to take into account financial stability objectives, as allowing Lucoin beyond the banking sector into the “non-banking sector” could become a means of circumventing capital controls.
The chairman made the same announcement at the 2025 Bank of Korea Economic and Political Economy Conference held at the main building of the Bank of Korea in Jung-gu, Seoul.
During a discussion with Federal Reserve Board member Christopher Waller at the BOK International Conference,
"Whether to allow only banks to issue stable coins or to allow non-banks to do so must be considered from multiple angles in terms of financial stability," he said.
He continued, "Unlike the U.S., South Korea can impose capital controls. Before allowing non-bank institutions to issue stable coins, we must establish a won-denominated stable coin."
"We need to consider whether the government will try to circumvent capital controls," he said. "Policy discussions between South Korea and the U.S. may differ," he said. "We need to consider whether South Korea will be able to circumvent capital controls or not."
"South Korea is placing great importance on capital controls, and other Asian countries are taking a similar stance," he said.
Prior to this, the governor also mentioned at a meeting of the Monetary and Monetary Affairs Committee last month that "the stable won-denominated
"If the coin exists, it will be very easy to trade with dollar-denominated stablecoins, which could create various ways to easily send funds overseas to avoid oversight," he said.
At the time, the governor said, "In a country like ours that has capital controls, it could be used as a way to circumvent the capital controls," and "We need a won-denominated stablecoin, but for now,
"We will start with a banking zone where the Bank of Korea can implement monetary policy and supervise," he added.
He defined stablecoins as a payment method that can be offered not only by banks but also by the private sector, and said, "Stablecoins can play a role in lowering (payment) costs through competition."
"I don't think we'd like it, but it would be okay if a fair playing field was created," he said. In his keynote speech, Waller also mentioned the trade policy of the second Trump administration.
"While the level of tariffs is uncertain, we currently estimate the effective tariff rate to be around 15%," Waller said. "The impact of the tariffs will be most evident in the second half of this year, but inflation will continue to rise."
"The impact on rates would be temporary," he continued. "As effective tariff rates fall to the low-tariff scenario levels, underlying inflation reaches the 2% target level, and the labor market remains strong,
"If that is the case, then we would be in favor of a rate cut following some 'positive news' later this year."