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S Korean Regulator Unmoved by Parliamentary Call to Lift ICO Ban

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South Korean financial regulators have poured cold water on calls from a parliamentary committee that wants to lift the country’s ban on initial coin offerings (ICOs).

Source: iStock/StephanHoerold

Per Money Today, the regulatory Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) is not prepared to heed the committee’s calls at this stage. The media outlet quotes a FSS official as saying, “We will have to listen to the recommendations of the special committee and carefully review them. However, we are still taking a negative stance toward ICO permission at the moment.”

The government issued a complete ban on ICOs last year as part of an attempt to cool what it termed an “overheated” cryptocurrency market.

However, earlier this week, a parliamentary committee charged with developing Industry 4.0-friendly legislation claimed that the ICO ban was hampering blockchain development, and suggested introducing legislation that would let government authorities to allow regulated ICOs.

A spokesperson for the National Assembly’s Special Committee on Industry 4.0 explained that the body hoped to “establish a legal basis for cryptocurrency trading, including allowing ICOs.”