South Korea Lawmaker Chung Tae-ho Proposes Bill to Reassess All Listed Digital Assets Within One Year

A bill has been introduced in South Korea that would require cryptocurrency exchanges to reassess all digital assets listed on their platforms within one year of the law taking effect.

According to the National Assembly’s bill information system on November 2, Democratic Party lawmaker Chung Tae-ho on October 29 introduced the proposed Act on the Digital Asset Market and Digital Asset Business. It is the fourth digital-asset framework bill put forward by the Democratic Party, following proposals by Min Byung-duk, Lee Kang-il and Park Sang-hyuk.

While the bill broadly mirrors earlier proposals in its overall regulatory framework, it is notable for detailing exchange listing reviews and standards for maintaining or ending trading support. Digital assets already trading on exchanges when the law takes effect would initially be recognized as lawfully approved for trading support. But they would still have to undergo a maintenance review under the new legal standards within one year of the effective date.

Stricter standards would apply to digital assets deemed likely to seriously harm investor protection or market order. Those assets must undergo a priority review within six months after the law takes effect. If the review finds they do not meet listing maintenance requirements, exchanges would have to begin procedures to end trading support. The bill also requires exchanges to ensure users have an opportunity to sell their holdings or transfer them elsewhere during that process.

The proposal creates a separate business category for digital-asset trading support and requires regular eligibility reviews even after a token is listed. Exchanges would have to verify at intervals set by presidential decree whether listed assets continue to meet the required standards. Tokens could be delisted if an issuance disclosure contains false statements, if a trading-support contract is materially breached, or if the asset fails to meet standards in a maintenance review.

The bill also codifies investor-protection procedures in the delisting process. Exchanges would, in principle, have to give issuers a chance to explain their position. If a delisting is expected to have a significant impact on users, exchanges would also need to gather opinions, provide a liquidation trading period and allow time for asset transfers. They would be required to notify users in advance of the grounds for delisting, the timetable and investor-protection measures.

The proposal also includes measures intended to ensure objectivity and independence in listing reviews. Exchanges would have to establish a separate trading-support review committee to assess technical stability, issuance and distribution structures, investment risks and the impact on market order. Review standards and procedures would have to be disclosed, and the Financial Services Commission would be allowed to set detailed standards.

The bill also requires the organizations responsible for listing reviews and decisions on maintenance or termination to operate separately from business divisions. If passed by the National Assembly, digital assets already listed on existing exchanges would also be subject to eligibility screening under the new standards after a transition period of up to one year.