Yoon Suk-Yeol – a member of the Conservative party – won the South Korean presidential election. The new political leader of the East Asian country has demonstrated a pro-crypto stance. Not long ago, he vowed to increase the minimum threshold for paying capital gains tax on profits from digital asset investments.
South Korea to Become a Crypto Hub?
The presidential election was one of the most contested in the history of South Korea. Yoon Suk-Yeol – a 61-year-old former prosecutor and a candidate of the Conservative party – secured a narrow victory over his opponent – the Democratic Party’s Lee Jae-Myung.
The election was also highly anticipated by the locals as 77% of the South Korean adults went to cast their ballots. In the aftermath, only 263,000 votes separated the two candidates. Yoon – known for his crypto-friendly viewpoint – labeled his win a “victory of the great South Korean people.”
In one of his recent appearances, he pledged to raise the minimum level for paying capital gains tax on earnings from cryptocurrency investments from $2,000 to $40,000. If implemented, South Korea could become an attractive destination for participants in the blockchain universe and even turn into a digital asset center.
It is worth noting that Yoon’s opponent – Lee Jae-Myung – has also shown affection towards the crypto sector. Earlier this year, he issued non-fungible tokens to fuel his political campaign. The collectibles depicted his image and served as a bond, allowing holders to exchange them with other individuals.
Political Leaders Who Are Keen on Crypto
Speaking of politicians who are pro-crypto, it is worth mentioning Francis Suarez and Eric Adams.
The former is the mayor of Miami, who became the first politician to receive his salary in bitcoin instead of fiat currency. Apart from praising the merits of the cryptocurrency sector, Suarez is also a hodler as his stash includes BTC and ETH.
Eric Adams – the recently elected mayor of New York City – is a keen advocate of the industry, too. Similar to Suarez, he vowed to get his first three paychecks in crypto. At one point, Adams even argued that children should study blockchain technology and digital assets at schools.
The mayor praised New York as the “center of innovation,” where scientists work on self-driving cars, drone development, cybersecurity, and more. Cryptocurrencies are another technological innovation that young people need to embrace, he added.
Featured image courtesy of The Korea Times
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