Lee Eok-won, nominee for Financial Services Commission chair: "Saying virtual assets have no intrinsic value is a misunderstanding"

Son Min

Summary

Lee Eok-won, nominee for Financial Services Commission chair, said the position that virtual assets have no intrinsic value is somewhat distorted.
He stated that virtual assets have high volatility so they cannot be regarded as currency, and that they are different from traditional financial products such as deposits·loans.
He also said he would announce the policy direction for the sound development of the virtual asset ecosystem without delay.

Lee Eok-won, the nominee for Financial Services Commission chair, said that the position that virtual assets (cryptocurrency) have no intrinsic value is somewhat distorted.

At the parliamentary confirmation hearing on the 2nd, in response to criticism from Rep. Kim Jae-seop of the People Power Party about his remarks that virtual assets have no intrinsic value, the nominee said, "My answer to the either-or question of whether virtual assets are currency or financial products was that they are neither," and added, "That does not mean they have no value in an ontological sense." He went on to explain, "Virtual assets have high volatility, so they cannot be regarded as currency, and financial products based on economic rights include deposits·loans·investment products of financial firms."

He also expressed his stance on the development of the virtual asset ecosystem. The nominee said, "I think we must create a sound virtual asset ecosystem," and added, "We are making many preparations. We will announce the policy direction on virtual assets without delay."