This Is How South Korea’s Incoming President Aims to Turn the Country Into Crypto Hub

South Korea’s newly elected president – Yoon Suk-yeol – displayed a pro-crypto stance during his campaign. Among his ideas is increasing the minimum threshold for paying capital gains tax on profits from digital asset investments.

Crypto Community Welcomes the New President

Last week’s presidential election in South Korea was the most contested in the East Asian country’s history. The candidate of the Conservative party – Yoon Suk-yeol – collected only 263,000 votes more than his opponent – the Democratic Party’s Lee Jae-myung. The winner, who will officially step into office in May, labeled his win a “victory of the great South Korean people.”

During his campaign, Yoon showed he is a keen supporter of the cryptocurrency industry numerous times. Initially, he promised to allow initial coin offerings (ICOs). In another appearance, the former prosecutor said that those who generate profits of less than $40,000 per year from crypto trading will be exempt from paying taxes. Currently, such taxes are imposed on profits generated above $2,000 per annum.

Yoon Suk-yeol, Source: BBC

Korea Blockchain Association – a lobby group for digital asset exchanges – predicted that the new president will positively impact the local cryptocurrency ecosystem. Speaking on the matter was Secretary-General Yoon Seong-han:

“We definitely welcome his stance as he is confident about boosting the industry. As ICOs are banned now, we have no choice but to issue coins in Singapore and other countries. Ventures and startups will be able to raise money easily from investors [if the ban is lifted].”

Anndy Lian – Chairman of BigONE Exchange – welcomed Yoon’s viewpoint, too:

“He understands the importance of crypto. He understands the future, and it is unstoppable.”

It is worth noting that private digital assets are highly popular among South Koreans, as the most enthusiastic demographic group are those in their 30s. A recent study revealed that around 15% of local crypto holders had allocated more than $8,000 each in the asset class.

It Is Time for South Korea to Embrace Crypto

Not long ago, Sohn Byung-doo – CEO of Korea Exchange (KRX) – argued that the country needs to study and explore ways to embrace the cryptocurrency sector.

The exec outlined there are around five million local investors, while the daily market trading volume is about $12 billion. If the nation does not engage further with the asset class, it could fall behind other countries that have already opened their arms to it:

“Now is the time for exchanges to compete directly with overseas exchanges.”

Featured Image Courtesy of NPR