Publications: Sejin Kim

If Korea wants a won stablecoin that matters, give it work on day one: Settle spot ETF trades; connect to tokenized securities (STO); cut remittance costs; and settle cross-border B2B invoices in KRW with fewer hops. Without real uses, the token drifts into speculation.

Korea’s highly educated workforce is increasingly stuck in low-quality jobs. This is not due to a lack of skill, but rather to government policies that penalize growth and fragment markets. Korea must embrace size neutrality, reforming regulations and incentives to support firms that innovate, scale, and compete globally.

In the Trump and China era, South Korea must move beyond export-led growth. Scaling up small firms and boosting productivity in services must be national imperatives.

South Korea stands at a crossroads as its restrictive “positive regulation” and “shadow regulations” stifle innovation in AI, crypto, and mobility tech, allowing China to race ahead. Korea must modernize this framework or risk losing its position as a global innovation leader.