National Assembly Pushes South Korean Government to Allow ICOs

The Special Committee on the Fourth Industrial Revolution under the South Korean National Assembly has come forward with a proposal to allow domestic ICOs once again but with stricter investor protection controls. Calls for government to stop neglecting its duty toward promoting blockchain technology.

National Assembly Presents Government with ICO Proposal

As the second largest crypto trading market globally, regulation changes in South Korea have a market-wide impact. That impact has been felt throughout 2018 since the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) implemented a ban on ICOs along with other restrictive regulations. The nationwide ICO ban has seen entrepreneurs taking their projects overseas to friendlier shores in order to raise funding. Hong Kong, Singapore, and Switzerland have become the popular destinations while South Korea has watched their innovators and the financial gains they create sail away.

Talks of easing off on restrictions led by Governor Yoon Suk-heun have been ongoing since early May. Yesterday the National Assembly announced an official recommendation to lift the ban on domestic ICOs.

As the governing administration has made no moves to create clarity or present any guidelines for a domestic policy on ICOs the National Assembly forwarded a proposal to allow ICOs under legislation that creates conditions of greater investor protection. The proposal is a result of the most recent general meeting of The Special Committee on the Fourth Industrial Revolution under the National Assembly which convened on May 28.

The Special Committee on the Fourth Industrial Revolution

The Special Committee on the Fourth Industrial Revolution is a state committee aimed at seeking ways to capitalize on changes brought on by the fourth industrial revolution, that is cyber and blockchain related technologies. The committee is made up of 25 members from the private sector and 5 officials from the government and has the mandate to overhaul the industrial sector by combing the countries pre-existing physical systems with emerging cyber technologies to serve as a catalyst for economic growth.

The committee has accused the sitting administration of neglecting its duty to respond to the expansion of blockchain technology by creating legislation that would allow it to flourish while also creating a regulatory framework that would protect investors in the nascent space. It was quoted in Business Korea as saying’

“We need to form a task force including private experts in order to improve transparency of cryptocurrency trading and establish a healthy trade order. The administration also needs to consider setting up a new committee and building governance systems at its level in a bid to systematically make blockchain policy and efficiently provide industrial support. We will also establish a legal basis for cryptocurrency trading, including permission of ICOs, through the National Assembly Standing Committee.”

The crypto market can now only wait and see if the committee under the National Assembly can accelerate the government’s progress on bringing forth new legislation on domestic ICO projects.

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