The head of the ruling Democratic party in South Korea has promised to make a dramatic u-turn on crypto policy that could make it easier for crypto-related offerings to operate in the country. The party has claimed that “the time has come” for the government to stop regulating crypto and to start “fostering” the industry instead.
The party is hoping to remain in power in next year’s general elections and has been made aware of the unpopularity of the current tough stance on cryptocurrencies. The party’s nominee for the next round of elections has hinted that he will take up much more welcoming approach to cyrpto assets. The nominee has said that he will consider giving tokens away to all South Korean citizens.
According to the Democratic party’s chairman, Song Young-gil, the government needs to “establish a blockchain department” in Busan, the home of the nation’s only blockchain regulation-free zone. Young-gil claimed that this would help the country to become more competitive in the digital currency stakes.
Song has also spoken of the need to recognise that “crypto assets” and “blockchain technology” are “two sides of the same coin” The current president’s ministers and chief regulators have previously insisted that it was preferable to pursue private blockchain advances, rather than work with decentralised protocols.
Speaking at a recent event in Busan, Song was hostile towards the current policies as well as the government’s handling of Busan’s status as a regulatory-free zone.
Song said, “Busan was designated as a blockchain regulatory free zone in 2019, but the [intended] results have not been achieved because the government has viewed virtual asset exchanges in a negative light and suppressed virtual assets while nurturing blockchain technology.”
Busan has hoped to achieve several goals including the reversal of the blanket initial coin offering ban. However, the city was limited to private blockchain-centered solutions by the central government.
Meanwhile, Korea’s central bank is set to unveil its digital won plans in full next year. This will be after the completion of a six-month-long pilot.
Money Today quoted the central Bank of Korea’s (BOK) Deputy Governor as stating: “We are currently conducting a [digital KRW] pilot to test the technical implementation potential of its basic functions, such as online and offline payment, with the goal of completing this process in June next year.”
