Following the People Power Party, Lee Jae-myung also "introduces virtual asset spot ETF"

Lee announces youth asset formation support pledge... Expected to accelerate coin market activation

Lee "I will create a safe investment environment"

People Power Party also allows spot ETFs, etc.

Announced '7 Major Digital Asset Pledges'

Lee reflects military service period in public institution salary steps

Analysis targeting young men with weak support

Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea, announced a youth pledge centered on the introduction of a virtual asset spot exchange-traded fund (ETF) on the 6th. The People Power Party had previously announced a virtual asset industry pledge at the party level last month. Attention is focused on whether follow-up measures to activate the market, such as the second legislation on virtual assets after the June 3 presidential election, will gain speed.

◇Support for asset accumulation with Bitcoin

On this day, candidate Lee announced a youth asset formation support pledge containing such content on SNS. Candidate Lee promised to institutionalize the virtual asset spot ETF and establish an integrated monitoring system, saying, "I will create a safe investment environment so that young people can form assets and plan for the future." He also presented a plan to reorganize the market under government leadership, saying, "I will induce a reduction in transaction fees."

Virtual assets are attracting attention as a high-yield investment destination for young people who feel limited by existing real estate, stocks, and savings/deposit financial techniques. Given the reality that millions are participating in the market despite high risks, institutionalization is considered an unavoidable task.

Candidate Lee's pledge is interpreted as an intention to bring virtual assets into the institutional framework to enhance safety. However, there is criticism that buying Bitcoin ETFs is not significantly different in terms of risk from directly purchasing cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. It is explained that even if other cryptocurrencies are bundled into an index, volatility does not decrease.

This is the first time candidate Lee has mentioned virtual assets as a presidential pledge. The Democratic Party announced a virtual asset pledge last year before the general election, including allowing spot ETFs and establishing an integrated monitoring system. Despite a landslide victory in the general election, there has been little progress since.

The People Power Party announced '7 Major Digital Asset Pledges' on the 28th of last month. Along with spot ETFs, they proposed abolishing the current one-exchange-one-bank regulation, allowing corporate and institutional investor transactions, and establishing a regulatory framework for stablecoins linked to currencies like the dollar. While candidate Lee and the Democratic Party approached from the youth perspective, the People Power Party approached from the industrial perspective, but both agree on speeding up the institutionalization of the virtual asset market.

◇"Increase student loan interest exemptions"

Candidate Lee also announced youth job and housing pledges. He said, "I will ensure that military service experience is fairly recognized in all public institutions and mandatorily reflected in salary steps." He also promised to expand the National Pension military service credit to cover the entire service period. The National Pension Credit is a system that recognizes the subscription period even if insurance premiums are not paid for certain reasons. It was decided to be 12 months during the pension reform agreement on the 3rd.

There is also an analysis that the virtual asset pledge and military service support pledge announced by candidate Lee on this day are aimed at the 20-30-year-old male demographic, which is relatively weak in Democratic Party support.

Candidate Lee proposed customized public sales and high-quality public rental expansions as youth housing support policies. He stated, "I will significantly supply symbiotic public dormitories like the half-price dormitory in Seongdong-gu, Seoul, and Hanyang University to reduce housing costs and provide a stable living foundation." He also promised to expand the target for monthly rent support for non-home-owning young households and expand monthly rent tax credits.

As a youth job policy, candidate Lee proposed expanding job search activity support funds, providing one-time job search benefits for voluntarily resigning youths, etc. He also promised state support for the first national pension premium, easing income requirements for post-employment student loan repayment, and expanding interest exemptions.

Reporter Hyunwoo Kang hkang@hankyung.com