South Korea's FSC explores tokenization path as memory chips continue to drive growth

South Korea’s top financial regulator has laid out a three-stage plan to tokenize stocks, bonds, and funds on a blockchain. 

This new system will open a new set of trading options for South Korea at the same moment its memory-chip exports are posting record numbers. 

How will South Korea tokenize stocks, bonds and funds? 

South Korea’s Financial Services Commission (FSC) has laid out a clear three-stage plan to tokenize traditional securities like stocks, bonds, and funds on a blockchain. The commission published its roadmap after the third meeting of a public-private consultative body on tokenized securities, held at the Korea Securities Depository in Seoul. 

The plan builds infrastructure that can be applied to what the regulator called “all types” of securities, not just the fractional-investment products the earlier framework focused on.

The first phase of the plan kicks off when the amended securities law takes effect on February 4, 2027, and the types of securities that will be tokenized include privately placed money-market funds and corporate bonds for institutional investors, unlisted stocks issued through a trust structure, and publicly offered fractional-investment securities. 

The second phase will expand the system to include all publicly offered securities while the third and final phase aims to build a settlement system directly on the blockchain. This means investors will be able to settle their tokenized trades using stablecoins. 

The FSC has set clear rules to protect investors and guide companies. For instance, existing securities firms are permitted to handle tokenized securities with their current licenses and don’t need a new one. Retail investors using over-the-counter (OTC) venues will have an annual net-purchase limit of 100 million won (about $74,000 USD) per exchange. 

For new “fractional” products, there is a subscription limit of 30 million won (about $22,000 USD) or 5% of a deal’s total size, whichever is smaller. Non-bank issuers must have 4 billion won (roughly $3 million USD) in equity capital and dedicated staff to manage accounts, ensure compliance, and run IT systems. 

Why is South Korea tokenizing securities now? 

South Korea is currently pushing to modernize its capital markets and create more ways for companies and investors to raise and use money while its economy is experiencing a massive boost from its semiconductor industry. 

The country’s two largest memory chip makers, Samsung Electronics (KRX: 005930) and SK Hynix (KRX: 000660), are world leaders and are important pillars in the AI data center build-up in the U.S. 

The country’s semiconductor exports jumped 167.7% in May 2026 from a year earlier, and the Bank of Korea also pushed back on the “chip peak” argument, saying the growth cycle is far from over. 

Its argument relies on the fact that AI infrastructure spending is outrunning supply. It also pointed out that the current expansion, which began in March 2023, has lasted 40 months, already 11 months beyond the average of the five cycles seen from 2000 to 2020.

However, South Korea’s lead is not uncontested. China’s largest DRAM maker, CXMT, has begun small-scale production of fifth-generation HBM3E for AI accelerators and aims to ramp up next year. 

SemiAnalysis estimated that CXMT’s overall yield on prior-generation eight-layer HBM3 sits at roughly 25%, meanwhile Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron are already mass-producing sixth-generation HBM4, a full generation ahead. 

But despite its lag in development, U.S. export limits on advanced chips have handed CXMT a captive domestic market, causing its first-half revenue to rise 874% from a year earlier to 150.3 billion yuan ($22.4 billion).

Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs projects Chinese toolmakers will hold 38% of China’s wafer-fab equipment market by 2028, up from 26% in 2025, while Korea’s chip-equipment localization rate sits near 20%.

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