Overview

Lee Jae-myung has won the presidency in South Korea by defeating the Conservative Party’s candidate, Kim Moon-soo, with a significant majority of nearly three million votes.

Promises Made

• Lee is focused on supporting the nation’s crypto industry. He has proposed to:
  • Legalize spot cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
  • Facilitate institutional investments in digital assets, targeting significant investors like the National Pension Fund.
• His proposal includes creating a stablecoin system based on the South Korean won to curb the movement of national wealth overseas.

Election Details

Lee’s victory was marked by securing 49.4% of the total 17 million votes cast in the snap election, according to theNational Election Commission data.

Regulatory Improvements

In the past two years, South Korea has imposed new regulations on the crypto sector, such as the Virtual Asset User Protection Act, aimed at safeguarding digital asset transactions. This now allows non-profits and exchanges to engage in cryptocurrency sales under regulatory oversight.

As the global crypto market cap approaches $3.4 trillion, other leaders in the region, including those from Pakistan and Hong Kong, are also advocating for further crypto regulations.