South Korea to legalize ICO
South Korea’s economy started to rapidly improve due to many positive changes in the country. Moreover, first time in many years they have even conducted a positive talks with the North Korean authorities, therefore the economy, as well as the whole situation on Korean Peninsula is expected to improve in the long-term.
It’s been noted that a representative of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, Hong Eui-rak, managed to get the support of 10 lawmakers and plan to challenge the current ICO ban. South Korea struggled with some cryptocurrency law problems back in 2017, when there were rumors of shutting down local cryptocurrency exchanges, which was proposed by the country’s justice minister Park Sang-ki. However, the government then emphasized in an official announcement that they will never ban cryptocurrencies. Moreover, they plan to regulate them in order to create a base for new business possibilities and a whole economy.
The problem arose when the Financial Services Commission (FSC) had to ban investors from participating in local Initial Coin Offering. The official reason was not disclosed, however the FSC most likely wanted to lower the mostly speculative and highly volatile types of assets.
Legalization of ICOs
Recently, CCN reported that there are people who plan to challenge the ban and make investing in domestic ICOs legal again. The bill released by Hong allows companies to run public ICOs, given that they receive the approval from the Financial Services Commission and the Ministry of Science and ICT. Hong Eui-rak, who is the main representative behind this idea said: “The bill is aimed at legalizing ICOs under the governments supervision. The primary goal (of the legislation) is helping remove uncertainties facing blockchain-related businesses”.
The FSC wants to solve the current problems and pass the laws relatively soon, as the biggest local cryptocurrency Bithumb is considering launching their ICO outside of South Korea, which could mean loss of multi-billion dollar opportunities for the country.
