Lee Jae-myung, presidential candidate of the Democratic Party, has vowed to legalize spot cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds (ETFs) if he wins. The move forms part of an overarching agenda aimed at making investment safer, especially for young people, by coming up with spot ETFs, lowering transaction costs, and boosting consumer protection efforts. Lee highlighted the necessity for structural reform to meet economic issues confronting young people, to equip them with improved prospects for asset-building and future planning.
This is the first time Lee has included cryptocurrency policy in his presidential campaign. The Democratic Party made similar commitments in the 2024 general election, but it never moved forward. Lee’s latest proposal includes legalizing spot crypto ETFs and creating an integrated monitoring system to make the digital asset space safer.
Ruling Party’s Crypto Reform Agenda
The ruling People Power Party (PPP) has also revealed a comprehensive plan to overhaul the country’s crypto regulations. Their platform involves repealing the restrictive one-exchange-one-bank policy in order to permit more competitive collaborations between banks and crypto exchanges, legalizing corporate and institutional trading of digital assets, and the approval of spot crypto ETFs. The PPP’s reforms seek to enhance market liquidity, institutional participation, and investor confidence.
Both parties are aggressively wooing the nation’s large cryptocurrency user base, which numbers an estimated 16 million people, or roughly 31% of the population. They have become a major voting bloc and have driven political discussion on digital asset regulation.
The presidential election set for June 3 is destined to be a turning point for South Korea’s cryptocurrency regulation strategy. Both front-runners are calling for the legalization of spot crypto ETFs, so the outcome of the election may have a substantial bearing on the nation’s crypto landscape.
Also read: South Korea’s Presidential Race Centers on Bitcoin ETF Legalization
