South Korea Elections Signal Crypto Victory Regardless of Outcome

South Korea’s upcoming presidential election has become a referendum on cryptocurrency policy, with both leading candidates embracing digital assets as a core campaign issue. Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party proposes legalizing spot crypto ETFs and permitting the $884 billion National Pension Service to invest in digital assets. His conservative rival Kim Moon-soo supports similar ETF measures while pushing for banking sector integration with crypto exchanges and tax relief for retail traders.

The rare bipartisan consensus underscores crypto’s growing political influence in a nation where over 18 million citizens—more than a third of the population—engage in digital asset trading. This political shift follows the 2022 collapse of TerraUSD, the failed stablecoin project by South Korean developer Do Kwon that erased $40 billion in value.