New institute seeks unified rules for Korea’s expanding crypto market

The Seoul Crypto Institute (SCI), a think tank dedicated to research and forming policy recommendations for cryptocurrency assets, will hold its official inauguration with a celebratory seminar on Wednesday afternoon.

The SCI is an association incorporated under the Korean National Assembly and approved by the National Assembly Secretariat, with the aim of bridging regulatory gaps related to cryptocurrencies and virtual assets.

Currently, different laws and government bureaus address cryptocurrencies and virtual assets — as well as stablecoins and tokenized assets — depending on the issue, with no spearheading body to lead discussions across the wide array of related topics.

Headed by President Park Jong-baek, partner attorney at Bae, Kim & Lee LLC, the SCI boasts an expert panel of researchers along with vice presidents Chang Joong-hyuk, director at the Blockchain Economy Research Institute; Hong Jun-ki, CEO of VOGO Fund Labs; Kang Hyoung-goo, professor at Hanyang University School of Business; and Kim Joon-hyun, CEO of Aibix Lab.

The opening seminar, titled "G3 Korea, Through the Crypto Transformation," will take place in central Seoul from 2 to 5 p.m. with a presentation on the regulatory agenda for manufacturing and trade by Kang and presentations on capital markets and the digital asset ecosystem by Chang.

"Despite our world-class capabilities in manufacturing, Korea has not yet set itself as a rule-maker in the field of digitalized trade assets and capital markets," said Park. "Unlike traditional financial and capital markets, the crypto market is closely related to the global level. This is time for us to not only grow our digital industry while keeping to necessary principles, but also lead the way in founding new rules so that both domestic and global companies can actively pursue their businesses in Korea."

"The SCI will join forces with the government, the National Assembly, businesses and experts so that our research will lead to real-life policies and legislation," added Park. 

BY YOON SO-YEON [[email protected]]