South Korea To Topple ICO Ban, Legalizes Fundraising for Crypto

South Korea topples its ban on Initial Coin Offering (ICO) of 2017, as the president-elect, Yoon Suk-yeol declared legalizing fundraising in cryptocurrency. In detail, Yoon Suk-yeol’s administration has rolled out 110 national tasks, in which ICO was brought back to existence.

Specifically, the government will create a two-lane regulatory framework for ICO that will categorize digital assets as securities and non-securities. The presidential transition committee said that the bill for ICO legalization focuses on the issue and listing of digital tokens and the prevention of unfair trades.

To add, Yoon’s administration drew plans to implement ICO legislation under the Digital Asset Basic Act. This act will include guidelines on issuing digital assets such as NFTs, investor protection, and stabilizing digital transactions. Furthermore, the committee will also consider a discussion on crypto-assets tax.

More interestingly, the new plan of the new government is in accordance with Yoon’s election campaigning promises. It is due to his promises on crypto developments in South Korea, that he gained votes in the presidential election.

While checking into the past, in 2017, the Financial Services Commission (FSC) of South Korea banned raising money via ICO for cryptos. The legal body had also debarred fundraising through all forms of virtual currencies. The primary intention of the regulatory body with the ban was to control and monitor virtual currencies. Also, earlier, the government had pointed out that ICOs would lead to financial scams and threats. 

Additionally, in March 2021, South Korea implemented the amendment act on the Reporting and Use of Specific Financial Transaction Information. This law specified AML/CTF rules for virtual asset service providers.