South Korea votes on 3rd June 2025, following the impeachment of Yoon Suk Yeol.
Crypto policy is central to the election, with both candidates supporting ETFs and stablecoins.
Institutional investment is currently absent, but reforms aim to open access.
South Korea positions itself as a future blockchain leader, responding to U.S. GENIUS Act.
South Korea’s 2025 election signals a crypto turning point, as both leading candidates push for ETFs, stablecoins, and deregulation – marking a post-LUNA shift toward digital asset reform and legitimacy.
SEOUL – South Koreans will head to the polls on 3rd June 2025, for a landmark presidential election that promises not just political restoration after months of turmoil, but potentially a systemic shift in the regional cryptocurrency landscape. With crypto regulation, adoption and innovation at the crux of campaign promises, this election is set to define South Korea’s position as a global blockchain hub for decades to come.
RIVALRY OF CRYPTO REFORM PROMISES
The backdrop is dramatic: former President Yoon Suk Yeol was impeached in April 2025 following his failed attempt to impose martial law in December 2024. The move sparked mass protests and triggered an emergency snap election. Currently, the leading candidates – Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party and Kim Moon-soo of the conservative People Power Party – are neck-deep in electoral promises to woo South Korea’s 18 million-strong army of crypto traders.
Latest polls show Lee Jae-myung with a commanding 49.2% of support, compared to Kim’s 36.8%, largely due to a fragmented conservative base and growing liberal momentum. Lee’s campaign has strongly embraced digital assets, proposing a Korean won-backed stablecoin, legalization of spot crypto ETFs and even investment by the $884 billion Korean National Pension Service into cryptocurrencies. Regulatory reform is also on the table, including the deregulation of the rigid banking rules that force crypto exchanges to rely on a handful of approved banks – a system that has choked smaller platforms and stifled competition in South Korea’s crypto market.
Kim Moon-soo, not to be outdone, has also promised to legalize spot ETFs and allow public institutions like the Korea Investment Corporation to allocate capital to virtual assets. He has positioned his policy as a means to cultivate maturity and discipline among the otherwise rather speculative retail traders, a demographic that forms the bulk of South Korean crypto economy.
SOUTH KOREAN RETAIL-ORIENTED CRYPTO TRADING LANDSCAPE
That reality was recently underscored by CryptoQuant, the blockchain analytics firm headquartered in Seoul. CEO Ki Young Ju revealed that institutional activity is absent in Korea’s crypto market, making retail investors the core driver of trading volume. This insight has been central in shaping the candidates’ sudden alignment on crypto policy, which is an unprecedented development that highlights just how politically important crypto has become.
But voter interest isn’t just theoretical. According to a Bitget survey, 36% of South Koreans say crypto policies will directly influence their vote. It’s no surprise then that both major candidates have taken strong, pro-crypto stances – a notable departure from the caution that followed the infamous collapse of Terra’s LUNA and UST stablecoins in 2022, which wiped out $60 billion in investor wealth. That disaster led to tightened scrutiny and legal drama, culminating in the South Korean Supreme Court upholding in February 2025 that LUNA and UST are not financial investment products under the Capital Markets Act, a decision that stunned many regulators and investors alike.
A NEW ERA OF STABLECOIN AND DEFI INNOVATION
Meanwhile, the global paradigm is also shifting. In the United States, the Trump administration has backed the GENIUS Act, a sweeping piece of legislation requiring stablecoins to maintain 1:1 liquid asset backing, signaling a new era of regulatory clarity. Some analysts see South Korea’s proposed stablecoin and ETF reforms as a regional answer to Washington’s GENIUS initiative – albeit one driven from the ground up by voter demand rather than elite political consensus.
Despite the ambitious vision, South Korea’s economy remains fragile. The Bank of Korea recently cut its benchmark rate to 2.5% – its fourth cut in this cycle, citing ongoing U.S. tariffs and sluggish domestic growth, now projected at just 0.8% for 2025.
Yet amid these macroeconomic tremors, South Korea’s crypto scene remains vibrant. Powerhouses like Upbit, projects like Blockchain Labs’ COOV and events such as Korea Blockchain Week signal a nation ready to lead the next wave of blockchain innovation. Even global players like Worldcoin’s Orb project are piloting identity-verification tech in Korea, banking on its high-tech, crypto-aware population.
As the world turns its gaze toward South Korea’s polls, one truth emerges with certainty: regardless of who claims victory, cryptocurrency stands triumphant. In a nation once shaken by the collapse of LUNA, digital assets have shed their stigma – they now represent a platform for reform, a promise of progress and perhaps, a direct path to political power.
Voting across South Korea will officially commence on Tuesday, 3rd June 2025, from 06:00 KST (22:00 GMT) to 20:00 KST.
〈South Korea’s Election Set to Bring Crypto Deregulation〉這篇文章最早發佈於《CoinRank》。
