The cryptocurrency market is on the centre stage ahead of the upcoming early presidential elections in South Korea.
With the expansion of the digital asset investor base across generations across the nation, candidates have been implemented with a crypto-friendly policy.
All three major presidential candidates have made positive commitments to crypto, including legalizing Spot Bitcoin (BTC) Exchange Sales Funds (ETFs) and relaxing banking restrictions on Fiat and Crypto Trading, which are limited to just five platforms.
The June 3 election will happen almost two years earlier after former President Yuk Yeol took office after he declared the judicial law following the declaration of martial law in late 2024.
Yoon has committed to reforming crypto regulations in his 2022 election campaign, particularly targeting younger voters. In the 2025 election, digital assets are now one of the leading agendas, with older generations also investing heavily.
All three major candidates running this election are committed to growing the local crypto economy. Opposition Democratic candidate Lee Jae-myung returned to the scene with a code-friendly campaign after losing to Yoon in 2022.
Kim Moon Thor, a candidate for the Ruler’s Power Party (PPP), is about to rebuild his conservative base after Yong leaves the party.
Lee Jun Chic, a former PPP leader and youngest leader in South Korea’s political history, runs as an independent candidate for the Reform Party, which he founded in early 2024.
Lee Jae-myeon, who made a pro-crypto promise in the 2022 election, did not take as aggressively as Yoon at the time. Yoon’s promise included steps such as lifting the ban on Play-to-earn (P2E) games and allowing initial coins to be provided (ICO), but most of them were not implemented.
Lee Jae-Myung and Kim are including the Bitcoin ETF as a campaign promise as a move seen as part of a global expansion following the US approval of the Spot Bitcoin ETF in 2024.
Yoon’s failed attempt at a coup accelerated the election process and attracted new attention to the unresolved issues in the crypto industry.
“In the 2022 election, cryptocurrencies were seen as speculative and unreliable. But by 2025 it had become a mainstream issue for key candidates who promised crypto and fiscal financing in response to the investment reality of young voters.”
Korea remains one of the largest crypto markets in the world. In the first quarter of 2024, South Korea’s victory was the most traded Fiat currency against crypto. This is driven primarily by individual investors, but institutional investors are waiting for FSC to launch a pilot trading program for professional investors.
*This is not investment advice.