Exclusive Interview with Lee Jun-seok, Reform New Party Member Coin Industry, Already Part of National Competitiveness Trump Advances with 'America First' Policy Korea Stuck in a Closed, Regulation-Centric Approach 'Kimchi Coin' Discrimination Across Domestic Exchanges and Industry "Regulatory Uncertainty and Authorities' Hesitation"... Urgent Policy Support Needed Investors' Funds Flowing Overseas... 'Discrimination' Cannot Be Ignored "President Donald Trump of the United States has established a virtual asset (cryptocurrency) task force under the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). In contrast, Korea is lagging in the global market with its regulation-centric policies. This applies not only to virtual assets but also to various advanced industry sectors." Lee Jun-seok (photo), a member of the Reform New Party, pointed out in an exclusive interview with Bloomingbit on the 3rd that the closed and regulation-centric policy approaches of past governments are undermining the future momentum of South Korea, including the virtual asset industry. Lee stated, "At one time, South Korea was a key country in the virtual asset industry, but as some media and political circles dismissed the potential of the virtual asset industry as speculation, Korea has lost its status as a key nation," adding, "The mainstream regulation focuses on suppressing risk factors rather than supporting innovative industries, which is a significant problem." He continued, "Due to government regulations, reverse discrimination against domestic virtual asset companies has occurred, reducing the competitiveness of the industry itself. Furthermore, domestic projects (companies and personnel related to virtual assets) are being transferred overseas," adding, "As the global virtual asset industry has become part of national competitiveness, we can no longer ignore the 'discrimination' situation." Lee Jun-seok, a member of the Reform New Party, is well known for having foreseen the potential of the virtual asset industry and directly investing in it from its early days. As a result, among the more than 15 million domestic virtual asset investors, he is recognized as a 'genuine expert' with a deep understanding of the virtual asset field. It is not uncommon to see investors in various virtual asset communities affectionately calling him 'Jun-seok hyung.' In the era of 'Trump 2.0,' which advocates for pro-virtual assets, we asked Lee about the current state and improvements needed in domestic virtual asset policies. "Government Regulations Fail to Reflect Global Industry Trends... Closed and Regulation-Centric" Lee first criticized the domestic regulations so far, stating, "They failed to reflect the rapidly evolving global industry trends, trying to forcibly fit virtual assets into the existing financial regulatory framework." He pointed out, "The virtual asset policies of past governments have remained closed and regulation-centric," adding, "This regulatory environment has caused difficulties in the issuance and listing of Korean coins, leading to a decline in the competitiveness of the industry itself." He further stated, "To avoid falling behind in global competition, discussions on comprehensive negative regulatory measures for the virtual asset market should take place in the public sphere," adding, "The authorities are still focusing heavily on investor protection in virtual asset policy management. However, excessive regulation not only accelerates the outflow of capital and technology overseas but also poses a risk of weakening competitiveness." Korean Exchanges Face 'Kimchi Coin' Disadvantages and Discrimination... "Root Cause is Regulatory Uncertainty" In the case of the United States, which currently leads the virtual asset market, President Trump has shown a tendency to support U.S.-based virtual asset companies under the 'America First' policy since taking office. For example, President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump launched their official meme coins, 'Official Trump' and 'Melania Coin,' on the U.S.-issued virtual asset 'Solana,' and major U.S. exchanges like Coinbase and Kraken listed them immediately upon release. In contrast, the domestic industry is experiencing reverse discrimination against 'Kimchi Coins' (virtual assets associated with Koreans or Korean companies). In the case of a major domestic exchange, A Exchange, the proportion of Kimchi Coins among the virtual assets listed in the past three months was only in the 10% range. Another major domestic exchange, B Exchange, had no Kimchi Coins listed during the same period. Lee pointed out that the root cause of this phenomenon is 'regulatory uncertainty.' He diagnosed, "Due to the restrictive business environment caused by regulatory uncertainty, companies that should be active across the virtual asset industry, including exchanges, are continuing defensive operations," adding, "In contrast, overseas exchanges are leading global trends by quickly trying new services based on flexible regulations." He further stated, "President Trump is expected to prioritize national interests in all fields, including virtual assets, based on America First. Our country also needs to improve the coin listing environment," adding, "Predictable policies should support Korean projects to be listed on domestic exchanges first, and based on this, we should enhance global competitiveness." However, he added, "Rather than focusing on giving preferential treatment to domestic coins, it is necessary to approach it from the perspective of creating an environment where they can compete fairly with foreign coins." "Domestic Virtual Asset Industry is Falling Behind in Global Competition... Urgent Need for Development Discussions" Lee warned, "If the domestic virtual asset industry is left unattended like this, it risks falling behind in global competition, with domestic investors and funds flowing overseas, leading to the exclusion of the Korean economy from the global digital finance competition." He added, "For example, even in the current stock market, the government is belatedly introducing many policies to revitalize the domestic stock market, but consumers who have already judged it to have lost its appeal are increasing their overseas stock trading volume," adding, "The domestic virtual asset market also urgently needs innovative and flexible policy support in line with global trends." Lee emphasized, "The government should strengthen communication with the industry to create an environment where companies can innovate freely and proactively clarify the regulatory framework to encourage technological and economic challenges. If not, in the long term, we will fall behind in global competition, and domestic investors who have not experienced innovative services will turn their eyes to overseas markets." He further added, "In the upcoming second phase of legislation, I believe it is necessary to prioritize discussions on the direction of industry development and the approach to virtual assets itself, such as corporate real-name accounts and provisions related to stablecoins, which are emerging as a core of the global financial market, moving away from the past regulation-centric approach." Youngmin Lee, Bloomingbit Reporter
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