[South Korea's STO Bill Passes Preliminary Review, Tokenized Securities Market Expected to Open in the First Half of Next Year] According to South Korean media outlet Electronic Times, amendments to the 'Electronic Securities Act' and 'Capital Markets Act' have passed the review by the National Assembly's Political Affairs Committee Bill Review Panel, marking a critical step toward the institutionalization of tokenized securities (STO). If the bill is approved in next month's plenary session, physical assets based on blockchain, such as real estate, artwork, and music copyrights, can be legally 'tokenized' and traded on authorized platforms. Currently, three major consortia are competing for qualifications to operate STO trading platforms. Industry experts predict that South Korea is poised to become Asia's hub for tokenized securities.