South Korean presidential candidate Yoon Seok-yeol has been officially elected as the next president of South Korea.
The election was one of the closest in South Korean history, according to a BBC report. Yoon, representing the conservative People’s Power Party, declared victory over its more politically advanced opponent, Lee Jae-myung, by less than 1%.
Cryptocurrency has played a leading role in the electoral debate in South Korea, with both candidates issuing non-fungible tokens (NFTs) related to the campaign. Their sympathetic stance on crypto was in contrast to former President Moon Jae-in’s attacks on crypto exchanges last year, which helped nurture a younger, more enthusiastic demographic.
Speaking at the Virtual Assets Forum in January, Yoon pledged to liberalize the crypto industry in South Korea, declaring his visionary stance on digital assets.
“In order to realize the unlimited potential of the virtual asset market, we need to review the rules that are far from reality and unreasonable.”
Yoon continued his positive development plans for cryptocurrency ahead of the elections, saying he wanted to help create “unicorns” linked to blockchain technology, startups worth $1 billion or more in South Korea. .
Yoon also promised to introduce some form of legislation that would lead to the return of cryptocurrencies obtained from illegal activities to the victims.
This is probably due to the growth of the original token of the South Korean blockchain icon (ICX) by 60% in the last 12 hours. It’s down a bit, but it was still at 40% at the time of writing. Yun signed his blockchain at a TV startup forum last December.
Cryptocurrency regulation has been a minefield for South Korean politicians, with drastic decisions leading to the closure of most South Korean crypto exchanges in September 2021. The lack of clarity regarding the taxation of digital assets has been a constant source of confusion for residents and their ilk. . legislative bodies.
Related: Major Crypto Exchanges Eyeing Asian Market Amid Increased Regulatory Clarity
Cryptocurrency is becoming more and more popular among South Korean youth. According to reports from local news channels, young people are quitting their jobs to day trade cryptocurrencies. On the other hand, the traditional stock market in South Korea is dominated by four family-owned conglomerates known as chaebol, which are widely seen as corrupt and politically influential.
Before the strong impact on cryptocurrency exchanges in September of last year, trading volumes on the largest South Korean exchanges exceeded the stock market.
