March 11, 2022
By Priyanka Shetty
Conservative Party member Yoon Suk-Yeol has won the closest presidential election in South Korean history with less than a 1% differential between himself and Lee Jae-myung, the liberal candidate of the democratic party.
As South Korea always had a turbulent relationship with crypto, Yoon’s election is certainly a change in the nation’s general sentiment, according to Business Today.
Here’s what more you need to know:
Yoon Suk-yeol vowed to deregulate the virtual asset industry to further promote its growth when he spoke at a virtual asset forum at Seoul in January. “To realize the unlimited potential of the virtual asset market, we must overhaul regulations that are far from reality and unreasonable”, he added.
Yoon is a crypto enthusiast himself who made profits in non-fungible tokens (NFTs). During the election campaign, Yoon launched an NFT collection of himself, which consisted of his images and videos.
One of his more divisive electoral promises was to raise the capital gains tax threshold on Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies from $2,000 to $40,000. If passed, this would be the world’s most generous tax-free allowance.
Yoon may have won South Korea’s presidency, but he was not the only pro-crypto candidate.
Lee Jae-myung, another presidential candidate, turned to NFTs to fundraise his election campaign. “It is high time that we undertake innovative experiments to enhance our understanding of these future technologies and change perceptions of digital currencies and NFTs,” Lee had said.
However, in case of, Yoon along with his pro-crypto attitude, his anti-feminist sentiments and technology-focused approach helped him to win.
Image: Wikimedia commons
About the author
Based in Bengaluru, Priyanka Shetty is a freelance writer for Blockchain Asset Review.
