Players in the payments sector are facing intensifying competition to secure a dominant position in the evolving stablecoin market as the government and the ruling party accelerate efforts to institutionalize a won-denominated stablecoin, industry officials said Wednesday. Card issuers are pursuing a strategy of integrating stablecoins into their existing authorization and settlement networks, while payment gateway firms are seeking a larger role in the value chain by registering related trademarks and internalizing wallet infrastructure. The Financial Services Commission, the country’s top financial regulator, convened its public-private virtual asset committee on Wednesday to finalize discussions on stablecoin provisions under the proposed Digital Asset Basic Act. The ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) aims to finalize a draft within the week. A separate stablecoin task force under the Credit Finance Association has circulated draft guidelines outlining how key compliance requirements, including anti-money laundering, know-your-customer procedures and fraud detection systems, co