As corporate participation in the digital asset market is set to expand, a proposal called for creating an independent custody infrastructure that separates trading from asset safekeeping, along with internal controls and a framework assigning responsibility when accidents occur.

The Korea Fintech Industry Association held a National Assembly seminar on Thursday at the National Assembly Members' Office Building in Yeouido, Seoul, under the title "Opening the corporate market and building a safe digital asset ecosystem".

Lawmaker Kim Hyun-jung (김현정) said, "Now that corporate market participation is becoming a reality, the key is how to open the market safely," and added, "We must build custody infrastructure that meets international standards so that hacking and weak internal controls do not recur."

She added, "I will work so that the second-stage legislation for the Digital Asset Basic Act quickly passes the National Assembly, so institutional-grade infrastructure can be built in a stable way."

Lawmaker Ahn Do-geol (안도걸) said, "Participation by institutions and corporations can serve as an opportunity to boost market stability and liquidity by encouraging long-term, diversified investment," and added, "Transparent management of reserve assets, an international-level security system and clear legal responsibility must be put in place together."

Kim Jong-hyun (김종현), chairman of the association, stressed that expanding corporate participation in the digital asset market is an opportunity for finance and the digital asset industry to grow together, and said he would support cooperation among market participants and policy communication.

In the first presentation, Ryu Hong-yeol (류홍열), CEO of BDEX, assessed corporate participation in the digital asset market as a turning point in market maturity and stressed the need for independent custody.

Ryu said, "Failure cases in the global digital asset market such as FTX and Mt. Gox stemmed from structural limitations in which the trading entity and the custody entity were not separated," and added, "A reliable, independent custody infrastructure is needed for institutional funds to flow in stably."

In the second presentation, Shin Hee-jin (신희진), a director at Kyobo Securities, presented tasks for institutionalising the domestic digital asset market and a phased implementation plan.

Shin said, "South Korea is currently at a transitional stage of制度 change preparing for an era of institutional investors," and added, "We must establish a trust framework that goes beyond merely allowing market access and covers investment decisions, asset custody and responsibility when accidents occur."

The panel discussion included officials from the Financial Services Commission, the Korea Financial Intelligence Unit, the Korea Institute of Finance, the legal community and the digital asset industry, who discussed corporate internal controls, custody infrastructure and the structure of legal responsibility.

Participants agreed that while corporate participation in the digital asset market could raise market liquidity and stability, independent asset custody systems, institutional-grade security infrastructure and clear standards for accident liability should be established in advance.