Regardless of whether the politicians are involved, the Financial Services Commission’s move is also drawing attention as they speed up the enactment of laws related to virtual assets (cryptocurrency). Considering that there is a process to convey the government’s thoughts before the bill is introduced, it is expected that the FSC will take a position on the Virtual Property Rights Act soon.
According to the National Assembly on the 22nd, the Democratic Party is planning to form a ‘virtual asset task force’ within the party this week. It is reported that Rep. Yoo Dong-soo has been appointed as the head of the TF. The TF is expected to deal with issues related to the cryptocurrency market, including the previously proposed Virtual Property Industry Rights Act and investor protection issues.
So far, a total of four cryptocurrency-related bills have been proposed by the Democratic Party. Rep. Lee Yong-woo, Kim Byung-wook, and Yang Kyung-sook proposed the Virtual Property Industry Rights Act. It contains information on the prohibition of market price manipulation, the supervision of financial authorities, and the virtual asset business license system. There is also a bill to amend the Electronic Financial Transactions Act, which was introduced by Rep. Park Yong-jin in June last year. There are a lot of things about authorization requirements and user protection.
The opposition party, People’s Power, also formed a cryptocurrency task force within the party last month. A total of 12 lawmakers are participating, and the chairperson is Assemblyman Seong Il-jong. It is said that the proposal of the Business Rights Act is currently being considered, and plans to foster related industries such as block chain are also being discussed. Kang Min-guk, a member of the same party, also proposed a bill to amend the Electronic Financial Transactions Act, which would require the issuance of virtual assets to be reviewed by the financial authorities.
As the National Assembly spurs the legislative work on cryptocurrency-related laws, the financial authorities are expected to decide their position soon. In order for the bill to be introduced, the vice chairman of the Financial Services Commission must attend the bill review subcommittee to present his or her opinion on the bill. An official from the National Assembly said, “Even before the subcommittee, authorities usually find facts between the ruling and opposition parties and explain the authorities’ position on the bill.” said
Currently, the FSC is looking into the examples of countries that have enacted business rights laws. However, no separate drafting work is in progress. An official from the Financial Services Commission said, “Now that the bill has been proposed, we will participate in the National Assembly discussion and present our opinions.” “We are looking at overseas cases to see how other countries are doing.”
In particular, the FSC is likely to focus on investor protection issues during future discussions. Investors’ dissatisfaction has risen as cryptocurrency exchanges have recently delisted coins one after another. An official from the FSC said, “The market and industry can develop only when investors are protected.” “Investor protection is the number one priority for the government to create a system.”
The fact that the Financial Supervisory Service recently requested details of the delisting of coins from 20 cryptocurrency exchanges that have acquired an Information Security Management System (ISMS) is also preparing to discuss the cryptocurrency bill in the National Assembly.
However, he said, “We are not reviewing Singapore-style regulations.” The Singapore method refers to a regulation that only recognizes exchangeable cryptocurrencies. It is said that only Bitcoin and Ethereum are currently recognized as cryptocurrencies with asset exchange value in Singapore, but if such a regulation is introduced, the majority of coins listed on domestic exchanges may disappear. Recently, there has been an argument that the FSC is reviewing Singapore-style regulations.
Meanwhile, Financial Services Commission Chairman Eun Seong-soo will attend the plenary session of the National Assembly Political Affairs Committee at 10 am on the same day. At the plenary meeting in April, he said, “I don’t think people should protect (investors) just because they invest a lot and have interest in cryptocurrency.” “If you go the wrong way, you have to tell them it’s the wrong way.”
