South Korean Pro-Crypto Candidate Yoon Suk-yeol Becomes President

South Korea has elected the pro-crypto, conservative candidate Yoon Suk-yeol as their nation’s next president. 

According to a report by The Block, citing data from the BBC’s coverage, Yoon and his opposition People Power Party won the presidential election by a margin of less than 1% of votes.

Yoon’s presidential election win presents potential ramifications for the world of crypto. During his campaign, the conservative candidate pledged to deregulate South Korea’s crypto industry, declaring that “we must overhaul regulations that are far from reality and unreasonable,” while speaking at an event in January. 

Yoon continued at the time, 

We must shift to a negative regulation system to ensure at least the virtual asset market has no worries. 

The report notes that Yoon has outlined a number of specific measures related to crypto, including easing the tax requirements on digital asset investment profits.

Yoon’s presidential campaign featured crypto as a notable policy topic. Alongside  his opponent Lee Jae-myung of the ruling Democratic Party, both candidates issued a campaign-related non-fungible token as part of their election efforts.  

Yoon’s presidential victory comes at a time of regulatory uncertainty for cryptoassets in South Korea. Last March, the country’s Financial Services Commission (FSC) said it would crack down on crypto companies that were not doing enough to combat money laundering. In April, the FSC announced exchanges would face fines of up to $52,000 if they failed to report suspicious activity or maintain a log of user transactions.

Disclaimer

The views and opinions expressed by the author, or any people mentioned in this article, are for informational purposes only, and they do not constitute financial, investment, or other advice. Investing in or trading cryptoassets comes with a risk of financial loss.

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