Industry Chiefs Urge South Korean President-Elect To Create A Ministry For Crypto

President-Elect Yoon Suk-yeol is being asked to form a ministry-level agency or ministry, for the crypto space. The demand has sprouted from a summit of South Korean industry chiefs, leading academics, and lawmakers.

The demand was made at the “Digital Asset Promise Implementation and Digital New Economy Ecosystem Innovation Seminar,” according to Seoul Finance. The Crypto enthusiast MP Cho Myung-hee played host to the seminar. He belongs to the People’s Power Party and the Korea Digital Innovation Solidarity – a collective made up of crypto-related firms and top domestic blockchain.

Yoon will be assuming office next month, the President-elect earlier had pledged to form a Digital Industry Promotion Agency to be run by the government. The agency would be in charge of regulating and promoting the crypto sector of the nation, as shared by Yoon.

However, the demand by attendees at the summit is to go beyond that and as mentioned above, create a ministry for governing the sector. They believe that it would be a great step ahead in ensuring the growth of the crypto economy.

Kim Hyung-joong, a Professor at the Graduate School of Information Security at the elite Korea University, pointed out that the proposal of a Digital Industry Promotion Agency by Yoon could turn out to be just another agency that works under another existing ministry and in the worst-case scenario, it could even get eventually dependent on the ministry for its funding.

According to Kim, a “Digital Assets Committee” – under the Fair Trade Commission and the Financial Services Commission- the sector will be secured as it will grant the new agency both independence and clout. The central government directly funds both the commissions and are not answerable to a minister.

Its chairpersons should also have a similar set of powers and can be selected by the ruling president, with their appointments getting the approval of the President.

The agency proposed by Yoon is based on his belief that crypto assets and NFTs require stricter regulation and more growth stimulation. The agency would seek resources of different ministries and agencies, for example, the Ministry of Strategy and Finance which would levy taxes, and the FSC, which would supervise the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Information and Communication (IT development) along with other institution of the Ministry of Education, and the Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Energy.

The attendees argue that it would be “difficult to coordinate between ministries” in the above-mentioned cross-ministry model proposed by Yoon. According to them, only a completely independent body can successfully govern the sector.

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Andrew is a blockchain developer who developed his interest in cryptocurrencies while his post-graduation. He is a keen observer of details and shares his passion for writing along with being a developer. His backend knowledge about blockchain helps him give a unique perspective to his writing