The South Korean National Assembly has made an official public move to boost the cryptocurrency market in the country. It has tendered a proposal that allows the launching of local initial coin offerings (ICOs).
This comes in the wake of a blanket ban on ICOs that was instated in September 2017.
Since then, the South Korean government has not set forth any guidelines to govern ICOs. As a result, local blockchain startups have been exiting the country and finding homes in more accommodating nations such as Singapore and Switzerland. While the companies are able to launch ICOs, they incur higher costs due to having to operate in foreign soil.
In response to the lack of action on the government’s part, the South Korean National Assembly created a special committee on the fourth industrial revolution. It is this committee that has gathered data and activity in the cryptocurrency industry over the past six months, the result of which is the official proposal.
The special committee’s recommendation in summation:
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.