Lee Jae-myung, from the left-wing party, has been officially announced as the new president of South Korea.
On Wednesday, Lee won the race against the previous president, Yoon Suk-yeol, who was known for his military-style leadership for three years before he was impeached.
The highest participation ratio in 28 years
The election had a 79.4% voter turnout, the highest in 28 years. Lee won 49.42% of the votes, beating his right-wing rival Kim Moon-soo, who got 41.15%.
Lee promised to help fix the country’s economic problems. He pledged to support low-income families and small businesses. He also said he would work to grow the local cryptocurrency industry.
The Korean crypto industry awaits
Lee Jae-myung has promised to support crypto in South Korea. One of his goals is to allow crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which are currently banned in the country. These are investment products tied to cryptocurrencies, and they’ve been very successful in the U.S. South Korea’s financial authorities have been considering allowing them as well.
Another promise is to approve stablecoins that are linked to the Korean won. Lee said last month that creating a stablecoin market based on the won could help keep money inside the country instead of it flowing abroad.
Lee also plans to complete the second part of South Korea’s digital asset law, which will focus on making rules for stablecoins and requiring more transparency from crypto exchanges.
He also wants to reduce regulations in certain areas marked as special zones for blockchain development, to help new ideas and businesses grow more easily.
South Korea is home to one of the world’s most active crypto markets
On certain days, more cryptocurrency is traded than stocks on the country’s main exchanges. The number of crypto users in South Korea has now grown to over 16 million.
