South Korean politicians lobby crypto investors ahead of the June election

South Korean investors have started taking steps to lobby crypto investors as the country’s June election draws closer. According to reports, the politicians are now taking aggressive approaches in courting the crypto community.

The country presently boasts an estimated 16 million crypto investors, representing about 36% of the entire voting population. With this development, politicians are now taking measures to ensure that sentiments shift to their side as they look to leverage that demographic.

In a report by Point Daily, the political significance of crypto voters has grown as the Bitcoin market in the country now exceeds 2,600 trillion won, rivaling most companies listed on KOSPI.

This is not the first time that politicians will be trying to leverage the crypto crowd and community, as we have seen it play out in the United States election late last year. According to some sources, Trump’s decision to align with the crypto crowd was integral to his success against opposition Kamala Harris, with Harris choosing to focus her campaign points on other aspects.

South Korean politicians go all-in on crypto voters

According to the Daily Point report, these 16 million investors represent a greater part of the country’s 44.25 million eligible voters from the previous general election. Now, major political parties in the country are now using several crypto-focused campaign strategies to sway voters.

For instance, the Democratic Party has drafted the token securities analyst, Professor Kim Yong-Jin of Sogang University, into their campaign team.

The party has also seen another crypto-focused alignment after Representative Min Byeong-deok introduced a draft Basic Digital Asset Act that includes provision for a stablecoin authorization system that will be linked to legal tender.

The presidential candidate of the Democratic party Lee Jae-myung had initially promised to regulate the virtual assets industry during the 2022 presidential election. “I think there is a problem with the delayed development of the virtual asset market,” he said at the time.

The crypto-focused lobbying is not only happening in the Democratic party, with the People Power Party also making its move in that regard. According to reports, the party, which confirmed its candidate ahead of the June 3 showdown, has released several crypto-related initiatives. This includes removing the restrictive exchange-one-bank system, establishing a taxation system, institutionalising virtual asset trading for corporations, enabling spot ETF trading a year after taking power, and establishing South Korea as a global virtual asset hub.

People Power Party candidate Kim Moon-soo has also addressed the frustration of investors. “About 16 million people, or one-third of the population, are participating in the virtual asset market, but virtual asset investors are being left without even the minimum protection measures in our country’s financial market,” he said.

He also made some pledges regarding what he will do if he wins, including a National Pension Service to invest in digital assets, removing restrictions on direct virtual asset investment by financial institutions, and establishing a virtual asset management and supervision system.

The presidential candidate for the New Reform Party Lee Jun-seok also made promises, noting earlier in January that he intends to foster the blockchain industry. Lee said he believes that blockchain is the foundation for all digital assets, and it needs to be fostered.

“There should also be attempts in the political world to radically ease regulations,” he said. An official from the virtual asset industry also waded into it, saying, “Deregulation is necessary to promote investment in virtual assets and activate the market.” He also added that it remains unclear where investors will decide to vote since all the presidential candidates are moving in the same direction.

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