South Korea’s newly elected President Lee Jae-myeon has vowed to legalize spot-bitcoin exchange trade funds and launch a stubcoin backed by the nation’s KRW.
Lee, a liberal fire truck and former mayor of Sungnam, concluded his presidency with 49.4% of the vote in the June 3 snap election, ending the political uncertainty months after the resignation of his conservative predecessor.
Lee’s campaign platform includes a drastic embrace of digital assets. If enacted, his promise would reverse South Korea’s long-standing crypto ETF ban and create the world’s first G20-backed Fiat Stubcoin outside the US
Overnight from outliers to leaders
Unlike other countries with a multi-month transition, South Korea’s SNAP election rules require that new presidents take office soon.
The country’s top financial regulator, the Financial Services Commission (FSC), has historically banned mediated access to crypto ETFs overseas. That stance segregated the South Korean capital market in the same way that US and Hong Kong investors had gained ETF exposure to Bitcoin and Ethereum.
This regulation and Lee’s pledge to overturn the national ETF product of licenses gives digital assets a large amount of railways compliant with Korean securities companies, pension funds and institutional investors, potentially providing digital assets by the fourth quarter of 2025.
Stables for the citizens
Perhaps more radical is Lee’s push for stablecoin on the sovereign KRW page, housed under the updated “Digital Asset Basic Act,” scheduled to be filed next week. The bill includes preliminary requirements (minimum 50 billion), licensing frameworks, and VAT exemptions for cipher swaps.
This Stablecoin aims to directly challenge US dollar domination in Asian trading pairs, rather than competing with private issuers such as Tether or Circle.
Korean exchanges such as Upbit and Bithumb regularly process daily volumes of $1.5 billion and $500 million respectively, so even the small user’s transition to winner-supported Stablecoin could displace liquidity from offshore dollar-based markets.
Voters’ missions are genuine and young
Lee’s crypto tilt was strategic. Over 15 million Koreans, roughly 30% of the adult population, trade codes, and voters have become one of the world’s most blockchain-savvy.
Young voters in their 20s and 30s saw crypto as a path to financial empowerment in a hypercompetitive society, and were decisive to shake up the vote.
The exit vote showed clear generational disparities, and Lee won the led lead of command within the younger demographics.
The victory gave Democrats control of both the enforcement and legislative sectors through 2028, giving them a rare latitude to implement crypto forward reforms quickly.
Regional ripple effect
Lee’s Pro-Crypto Pivot comes just two months after Hong Kong launched Asia’s first spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETF.
South Korea’s move is likely to intensify pressure on Japanese financial services institutions and Singapore’s MAS.
With its ready-made retail base and some of Asia’s largest trading platforms, South Korea could become the new epicenter of regulated crypto activity in the region.
This increases the possibility of new dynamics within the “Kimchi Premium” through ETF arbitrage flow, more severe price convergence between the east and west, and the regulatory domino effect across the Pacific rim.
Disability and risks
Still, implementation is not guaranteed. The FSC’s current leadership continues and it is unclear whether Chairman Lee Bok-hyun is in line with the new administration’s vision without legislative amendments to the Capital Markets Act.
Institutional resistance from banks to conservative lawmakers can also slow progress.
Moreover, Lee Jae Myung is still entangled with legal proceedings arising from alleged campaign finance violations. South Korea’s constitutional courts retain the power to suspend sit-in presidents under certain conditions. For Crypto Watchers, the actual policy window can be closer to 12-18 months than the full period.
There is also a potential conflict brewing between the proposed Stablecoin and the Bank of Korea’s ongoing CBDC pilot, which could complicate inter-agency coordination.
A country that has been re-licated?
Regardless of these warnings, Lee’s election shows a sea change in how the major G20 economies view crypto. If successful, his ETF and Stablecoin initiative will not only rewire South Korea’s financial plumbing, but also provide a regulatory model that blends populist momentum and institutional structure.
In a global environment where crypto policy is often moved at a glacial pace, Korea was just a quick hit. The rest of Asia and Wall Street are watching.
