Nearly eight months after a blanket ban on initial coin offerings (ICOs), South Korea’s National Assembly has reportedly made an official recommendation to allow domestic ICOs in the country.




Initial coin offering (ICO) is an increasingly popular way to finance projects, and are often much less cumbersome and expensive than IPO. However, due to investors being scammed out of millions, ICOs have also come under increasing scrutiny around the world, and South Korea is not an exception. “Financial authorities have been talking to the country’s tax agency, justice ministry and other relevant government offices about a plan to allow ICOs in Korea when certain conditions are met,” reported The Korean Times.

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A group of lawmakers led by Rep. Hong Eui-rak of the Democratic Party of Korea began drafting a bill to legalize the launch of new ICOs in the country with the aims of promoting the bill approval within this year.

“The bill is aimed at legalizing ICOs under the government’s supervision,” he said at the time. He added that the bill was developed in collaboration between his agency and Korea International Trade Association (KITA), with the aims of eliminating the dangers of blockchain and ICO. Specifically, ICO projects in Korea will be subject to close supervision from Korean Financial Services Commission and Ministry of Science, ICT & Future Planning.

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This turning point could be considered as a success of recent remarks made by the new CFO of South Korea, who has chosen to emphasize the "positive aspects" of cryptocurrency while recommending authorities be more open-minded about this sector.