- Yoon Suk-yeol is South Korea’s new president.
- He is known for his crypto-friendly approach.
- Many of his campaign promises appealed to the crypto-loving youth of Korea.
Yoon Suk-yeol, the leader of the South Korea’s People Power Party, secured a narrow win over the Democratic party candidate, becoming South Korea’s new president. Securing 49% of votes, the 61-year old former prosecutor became the nation’s newest leader.
His crypto-friendly approach made Yoon Suk-yeol a favorite of the young Korean population during the election. One of his more controversial election promises is to raise the threshold for paying capital gains tax on earnings from Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies from $2,000 to $40,000. If implemented, this will become the world’s most generous tax-free allowance.
Yoon’s approach stood out, in contrast with that of the previous government. This tech-focused approach, combined with his anti-feminist sentiments, is what led him to victory, says political analysts.
The new president has also suggested that he will review a 2017 ban on initial coin offerings (ICOs) and possibly reinstate the controversial fundraising tactic. An ICO is an unregulated means by which funds are raised for a new cryptocurrency venture. The problem with ICOs is that they are fraught with scams wherein coin issuers vanish once the fundraising is complete.
Moreover, feeling the pulse of the youth, Yoon leveraged the popularity of the NFT craze. During the election campaign, Yoon launched an NFT collection of himself, featuring pictures and videos.
It is noteworthy that tokens of prominent South Korean project ICON (ICX) surged as much as 70% in the past 24 hours after Yoon Suk-yeol’s win.
Young Koreans who have been affected disproportionately by the growing wealth disparity in the country are now looking up to Yoon Suk-yeol to lead them into a more prosperous future. Whether this future will truly materialize or not is to be seen.
