South Korea’s winning party moves toward bitcoin ETF promise: report

South Korea’s left-wing Democratic Party plans to request financial regulators to review the currently banned spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds, according to a South Korean news report. This signifies the party’s next step in its initiative to make spot bitcoin funds locally accessible . 

The opposing Democratic Party scored a major win in April’s general election, winning 175 seats out of 300 in the local legislative body, while the ruling conservative party won 108. It had pledged to enable local financial institutions to launch spot crypto ETFs and allow retail investors to purchase those funds through accounts with tax exemptions.

Once South Korea’s 22nd National Assembly commences in June, the Democratic Party plans to request the Financial Services Commission, the country’s top financial watchdog, to reexamine spot bitcoin ETFs with the aim of opening up such products locally, according to a BloomingBit report citing a member of the party.

The FSC currently does not allow issuance or trade of spot bitcoin ETFs, after it reportedly made a conclusion that there is no legal basis that bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies could serve as an underlying asset for such products.

The Democratic Party is also considering the option to amend existing financial regulations in case the FSC stays reluctant to greenlight bitcoin funds, the report said. 

The representative for the Democratic Party did not immediately respond to The Block’s request for comments.