South Korea plans to update its 76-year-old national asset management system to formally include virtual currencies and intellectual property in the definition of the country’s national assets, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance’s economic policy roadmap released Wednesday.
The proposal envisages revising the National Property Law, which dates back to 1950, and plans to create a broader legal framework for the management of state-owned assets. The ministry reiterated its intention to launch a pilot program of tokenized government bonds in 2027, saying blockchain technology has the potential to reduce transaction costs and speed up transfers.
According to the plan, officials are also exploring tokenization of state-owned real estate to allow retail investors to participate and share investment returns.
This announcement builds on South Korea’s broader push to introduce blockchain into public finances. Earlier this year, the Finance Ministry announced that it would begin testing token deposits for government spending in the fourth quarter. The Bank of Korea has already started testing its central bank digital currency (CBDC) with commercial banks.
