Both South Korean Presidential Candidates to Announce Pro-Cryptocurrency Manifesto

Cryptocurrencies will be a key political battleground in South Korea, with both leading candidates set to showcase some crypto-related policies in the March presidential election. The ruling Democratic Party's Lee Jae-myung has tried to appeal to young voters with a series of pro-crypto policies and talked about creating an international cryptocurrency "hub" through pro-business tactics. The latest Realmeter polling figures show that Lee is ahead of his main opposition People's Power Party rival Yoon for the first time in 2021, after underperforming at the end of 2021. However, Yoon does not appear to be sitting idly by, and Yoon will deliver a speech on Jan. 19 in which political sources say Yoon will promise to “create an environment where crypto-asset investors can invest with confidence.” The decision to speak early was made because Li had arranged to meet the chief executives of the country’s four largest cryptocurrency exchanges that same morning, the sources said. Yoon’s pledge “could include measures aimed at “protecting investors,” as well as policies aimed at supporting the nascent NFT and metaverse fields, the outlet said. Yoon will also formulate measures aimed at “revitalizing” blockchain and cryptocurrency exchanges industry policy.