Korea’s Governor calls for bold moves on blockchain

Decenter
Decenter
Aug 31, 2018 · 3 min read

‘Government must not confine itself in fear’

Governor Won Hee-ryong of Jeju Special Self-Governing Province in South Korea

“The government must not confine itself in a room, with the door closed, merely out of fear about possible risks from cryptocurrencies. We can, and must, alter the red line drawn wrongly by the authorities. Indeed a special blockchain zone is necessary because of the problems that could be caused by cryptocurrencies and feared by the government.”

Governor Won Hee-ryong of Jeju Special Self-Governing Province in South Korea made the remarks during his lecture under the theme of “Toward the Blockchain Hub City” at the K-Blockchain 2018 conference held at the Coex Convention and Exhibition Center in southern Seoul Thursday. “The government itself is quite aware that the blockchain ecosystem would make great strides. But it remains skeptical about cryptocurrencies owing to excessive concerns while dealing with the issue and banned transactions,” he said.

Stressing that cryptocurrencies and blockchain are inseparable, Won explained, “There are no centralized servers and rewards are given in exchange for participation.” “It’s difficult to encourage individuals to take part if there is no compensation for contributions and for this characteristic, the word ‘currency’ was used. This makes people feel as if illegal money games were going on the internet but cryptocurrencies are worth more than that.”

Governor Won expressed regret at the government’s policy of banning local initial coin offerings (ICOs). “Korea’s many promising startups have left Korea for such cities as Zug in Switzerland because of cumbersome regulations including an issuance ban on virtual accounts,” he said, adding that “about 110,000 jobs have been created in Zug and many of them are thanks to Korea.”

Governor Won said, “More Korean companies head for countries friendly to cryptocurrencies and register their technologies there and create jobs. In contrast, Korea is failing to remain competitive in global markets as startups weaken and funds flow out of Korea.”

For this reason, Governor Won emphasized the need to introduce a “regulatory sandbox,” saying “it is necessary to harmonize industrial promotion and investor protection and ensure free business activity even amid regulations.” “Now the most defensive government agency toward cryptocurrencies is the Financial Services Commission. We will offer alternatives to what is worrying the commission. Although problems occur, we will fix them responsibly capitalizing on Jeju Island‘s geographical characteristics.”

As the southernmost island’s advantages in relation to the “regulatory sandbox,” he cited Jeju Island’s legal status as a special self-governing province and its status as a free international city. His remarks signify that because Jeju Island is a special self-governing province, it could resolve the cryptocurrency issue mixed with financial and judiciary problems more easily through the island’s special laws. Jeju Island also expects to grow as an international blockchain hub city, relying on its favorable conditions to attract foreign capital through the no-visa system.

“A politician ignorant of technology could only play the role of either a bridge or a speaker. All need to join forces to build a special blockchain zone even outside of Jeju Island,” the governor said.

by Min Seoyeon (minsy@decenter.kr)
Originally published at: decenter.kr

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Decenter

Korea’s No.1 Blockchain & Crypto News

Decenter News

Korea’s No1. Blockchain & Crypto News

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