South Korea’s Deputy PM: ‘Government Not Negative on Crypto’

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Tim Alper

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Tim Alper

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Tim Alper is a British journalist and features writer who has worked at Cryptonews.com since 2018. He has written for media outlets such as the BBC, the Guardian, and Chosun Ilbo. He has also worked...

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December 18, 2024

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South Korea’s Deputy Prime Minister has claimed that the government is not negative on crypto-related matters.

Choi Sang-mok, the nation’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Strategy and Finance, admitted that “domestic and international uncertainties” remain in the wake of a successful vote to impeach President Yoon Suk-yeol earlier this month.

Not Negative on Crypto: Finance Chief

Per Newsis, Choi told reporters that the government would “not let its guard down” in spite of the turmoil.

He claimed Seoul would “manage the economy as stably as possible” by “gathering all the capabilities of the public and private sectors.”

South Korean lawmakers have recently claimed to have issued an “all-stop” or pause on all crypto-related legislation following the political chaos of early December.

Yoon declared martial law on December 3, only for lawmakers to force their way into parliament and overturn his decision.

Impeachment Ruling

Lawmakers have since voted to impeach the President. But the ruling is yet to be ratified by the constitutional court.

Yoon has been suspended pending a verdict, with the People’s Power Party faction de facto ruling the nation in his stead.

Choi responded to questions from the media on December 18, with one journalist asking him about US President-elect Donald Trump’s “position on strategic crypto reserves.”

“Since the specific details of the strategic cryptoasset proposal from President-elect Trump have not been revealed yet, this is not the time to evaluate it. We plan to prepare a response and other measures when the new US administration takes office. We will act after these and other and new proposals related to cryptoassets become concrete.”

Choi Sang-mok, South Korea’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Strategy and Finance

Crypto Tax Delay

The Deputy Prime Minister also spoke about the National Assembly’s recent vote to delay the launch of crypto tax to 2027. He explained:

“The government is not negative on cryptoassets. As regulations and related systems are still in their infancy, we decided to defer [the crypto tax launch]. Because we judged that it would be appropriate to monitor the progress [of regulations] before we introduce taxation.”

Choi further claimed that the central Bank of Korea, financial regulators, and “other related authorities” are currently “preparing new regulatory policies” for the crypto sector.

He said these focus “not only on customer protection,” but also on “the legal nature” of crypto.

And Choi said these parties were also looking at more “general” issues on “how to regulate this sector domestically.”

Budget Burden?

The Deputy Prime Minister indicated that the government was focusing its attention on implementing the 2025 budget.

The People’s Power Party has faced stiff opposition from the Democratic Party, which has a large majority in the National Assembly.

The Democratic Party has previously refused to accept the budget, causing a long stand-off in the National Assembly.

However, following the impeachment vote, the government is hopeful it will finally make a breakthrough in implementing the budget.

Crypto trading volumes remain high on South Korean crypto exchanges following the events of December 3, while the fiat won continues to slide against currencies like the USD.

Lawmakers, anticipating a potential election in the event of Yoon’s impeachment, previously said they would not discuss crypto-related bills until the political chaos had abated.