[Edaily Marketin Soyoung Park Song Seung-Hyeon Reporter] In global markets, the scope of tokenization is rapidly expanding beyond U.S. Treasury bonds and money market funds (MMFs) to include traditional financial assets such as stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs). This is because tokenized securities have evolved beyond simply creating new assets to becoming a means of transforming how existing securities are issued and distributed. In the Korean market, which is set to implement the tokenized securities system next February, securing post-issuance liquidity, investor trust, and a global distribution network—rather than the issuance technology itself—has emerged as the key challenge that will determine the market’s success or failure.

KSD, a Key Player in Tokenized Securities Infrastructure, Remains Vigilant Against Technological Barriers

Lee Yoon-soo, President of the Korea Securities Depository (KSD), highlighted the policy direction of gradually expanding the scope of tokenized securities from non-standard securities—such as fractional investment securities—to standard securities like stocks, bonds, and funds during the “STO Summit 2026” held on the 2nd at the Korea Exchange Conference Hall in Yeouido, Seoul. He explained that this signifies expanding the tokenized securities market beyond the fractional investment market to encompass the digital transformation of the traditional securities market and the broader capital market infrastructure.

President Lee emphasized, “Tokenized securities are not so much a new type of security as they are a new form of issuance for existing securities,” stressing that what matters is how to develop the capital markets using distributed ledger technology, rather than the technology itself. In particular, he noted that in South Korea, where electronic securities infrastructure is already highly advanced, demonstrating utility that differentiates tokenized securities from existing systems is key to their successful market adoption.

Global market trends also support this shift. According to President Lee, the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) in the U.S. has moved to the stage of processing actual trades by tokenizing traditional securities, such as stocks and bonds, that it previously held in custody. Hong Kong has tokenized digital green government bonds, and Japan is also broadening the scope of tokenization beyond real estate to include legacy securities such as stocks and bonds.

To this end, the Korea Securities Depository (KSD) has been conducting integration tests with its tokenized securities support platform to ensure it can launch services in February of next year, when amendments to the Electronic Securities Act and the Capital Markets Act—which incorporate the tokenized securities system—take effect. President Lee stated, “We will ensure that market participants are not restricted to choosing a specific distributed ledger technology and that no unnecessary technical barriers arise during the process of integrating with the KSD.”

He continued, “The announced policy direction and detailed requirements will not necessarily remain unchanged after implementation,” adding, “There is ample room to move forward more proactively as technology advances and stability is confirmed through sufficient verification.” He also noted, “Without innovation, it is difficult for the market to develop, but if trust collapses in the early stages, that market cannot sustain itself,” and added, “The implementation next February is just the starting line.”

Son Seung-tae, Head of Division at KDX—which has received preliminary authorization from the government to act as an over-the-counter broker for tokenized securities and is preparing for full authorization—explained that the purpose of tokenization is not simply to create a new type of product. “Tokens are a means to an end,” he said, adding, “We need to make assets that were previously inaccessible to the traditional financial market more liquid and increase investor access.” He emphasized that building trust in the secondary market is particularly important and stressed the need to carry forward the trust established in traditional financial markets into the tokenized securities market.

Market-Making Is More Important Than Technology… Global Interconnectivity Is Needed

The issue is that as the tokenization of traditional securities begins, concerns about market structure are growing more than those about technology.

Park Gu-bin, Executive Vice President at Mirae Asset Management, shared his experience of directly bringing ETFs onto the blockchain in the global market and emphasized, “Issuance is easy, but securing liquidity is difficult.” Through GlobalX, Mirae Asset is distributing 27 ETFs on-chain and is actively implementing models such as the “wrapper” model—where a separate special purpose vehicle (SPV) purchases and holds existing ETFs in custody before issuing tokens using them as collateral—and the “digital twin” model, which adds a tokenized class to existing funds.

Executive Vice President Park stressed that for tokens to be actually traded and used as collateral and a means of payment, various market participants—including custodians, registry operators, market makers, distribution platforms, and on-chain financial protocols—must work together.

The global on-chain industry’s outlook on the Korean token market was positive. Rania Laharza, Senior Director for the Asia-Pacific region at On-Chain Finance, explained that Korea is the first strategic market outside the U.S. to actively pursue the tokenization of stocks and financial assets. She noted that following the tokenization of global ETFs with Mirae Asset, the company is also pursuing a partnership with KakaoPay Securities to tokenize Korean stocks.

Lee Seong-san, Head of Korea at the Solana Foundation, explained, “Given its solid manufacturing base and high technological competitiveness, Korea has great potential to grow into a global hub for the tokenized securities market,” adding, “Blockchain and tokenization technologies can play a role in bringing Korea’s high-quality assets—which are likely to attract the interest of overseas investors—to the global market.”

During the panel discussion, it was pointed out that for Korea to secure competitiveness in the global tokenized securities market, it must not remain limited to “tokenized securities traded only within Korea.” Since the advantage of tokenization lies in connecting assets and investors across borders, the domestic distribution market must also ensure interoperability with global markets.

Lee Seong-san, General Manager, stated, “Ultimately, KDX and NXT will also need to consider interoperability and liquidity provision while establishing an environment that allows access to and trading of overseas assets,” adding, “The direction of Korean tokenized securities must also move in that direction.”