Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon: "Virtual assets should shift from regulation to promotion... Urgent need for ETF and security token systems"

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon emphasized that the virtual asset (cryptocurrency) industry should be directed toward promotion rather than regulation. In particular, he urged the establishment of systems for virtual asset exchange-traded funds (ETFs), corporate transactions, and security token offerings (STOs).

On the 5th, Mayor Oh pointed out through his social media (SNS), "While countries around the world are embracing virtual assets as the core of financial innovation, Korea still remains in a conservative regulatory stance." He added, "Maintaining such an attitude in a rapidly changing financial paradigm is a path to losing competitiveness."

Mayor Oh expressed the need to foster the virtual asset industry. He said, "Just as the United States and Europe have grown their markets by introducing virtual asset ETFs and allowing institutional investors to participate, Korea also needs to establish an institutional foundation to connect virtual assets with the real economy." Mayor Oh elaborated, "To this end, it is urgent to create a 'Virtual Asset Innovation Fund' and enact a 'Basic Law on Virtual Assets'."

He continued, "We should adopt systems that are already permitted in advanced countries, such as virtual asset ETFs, corporate transactions, and security token offerings (STOs)," explaining that "through these, virtual assets can be established as a pillar of institutional finance rather than merely objects of speculation, and can breathe innovation and trust into the overall financial market."

Finally, Mayor Oh emphasized, "We must recognize virtual assets as a new growth engine and actively foster them," adding that "it is time for a substantial policy shift through tax system reorganization, enactment of a Financial Innovation Promotion Act, and institutional support to help Korea leap forward as a hub for Asian digital finance."