BlockBeats News, July 19th—Today, the South Korean Ministry of Economy and Finance, in conjunction with the Financial Services Commission, the Bank of Korea, the Financial Supervisory Service, and other institutions, officially released the "Korean Won Internationalization Roadmap." The goal is to transition the Korean Won from a regulated currency to a "freely convertible currency," achieving a transaction environment unrestricted by time and location. Key measures include: building an "Offshore Korean Won Payment Network" by the Bank of Korea on the basis of the already-operating foreign exchange market that runs 24 hours; once overseas financial institutions are registered as offshore settlement institutions, foreigners can complete deposits, remittances, and payments without needing to open a Korean account; a significant reduction in the pre-reporting obligation for Korean Won capital transactions among foreign investors; a substantial relaxation of foreign exchange controls, doubling the threshold for foreign nationals for Korean Won loans and capital transactions reporting, transitioning towards a long-term post-reporting system; and streamlining Korean Won account structures to enhance usability. In the digital finance field, the South Korean government will formulate rules for the issuance and circulation of a Korean Won stablecoin according to the "Basic Digital Asset Law," promote Korean banks' CBDC usage and bond tokenization pilot projects, and participate in the Agora project led by the Bank for International Settlements to seize the digital international settlement market.

Regarding complementary measures, the government will promote the inclusion of the MSCI Developed Markets Index, expand the collateral scope for government bonds and stablecoin bonds, permit government bond lending transactions between domestic and foreign investors within international central securities depositories, and enhance foreign investor access to the securities market. On the trade front, policies will be introduced to provide preferential policy interest rates and expanded trade insurance coverage for companies settling in Korean Won, expand direct currency trading systems with major trading partners, promote cross-border QR payment interoperability and the Asian Multilateral Payment Network (Project Nexus), and establish a Korean Won settlement channel bypassing the US Dollar. In terms of liquidity, a private-sector overnight Korean Won supply mechanism will be established, with government and central bank backing provided when necessary. Concurrently, restrictions on foreign financial institutions' Korean Won financing will be relaxed, and the domestic bank custody business will be institutionalized. The government stated that Korean Won internationalization will promote capital market development, reduce corporate exchange rate hedging costs, enhance foreign exchange market stability, but will also upgrade foreign exchange stability policies and macroprudential management systems to address volatility risks.