Earlier today, on January 11, the South Korea Ministry of Justice reaffirmed that it is continuing to draft its cryptocurrency trading closure bill, which has been in the works since December 13.
In a statement, South Korea Attorney General Park Sang-ki said:
“The South Korean Ministry of Justice is considering the closure of cryptocurrency trading to bring cryptocurrency mania and speculation under control for investor protection.”
FUD Drives the Price of Cryptocurrencies Down
Previously, CCN reported that the South Korean government formed a task force composed of representatives from the South Korean Ministry of Strategy and Finance, Financial Services Commission, Ministry of Justice, Fair Trade Commission, and Financial Supervisory Commission, has been preparing a comprehensive bill that will effectively prohibit underaged investors and foreigners from trading cryptocurrencies within the South Korean market.
This week, several mainstream media outlets reported that the South Korean government is planning to ban cryptocurrency trading. That is certainly not the case, as the bill would need to pass congress first before it can be taken into effect.
As it has done since December 13 of 2017, the South Korea Ministry is merely preparing a bill that would close down certain cryptocurrency exchanges. It is not planning to ban cryptocurrency trading in the short-term. If the South Korean government intended to ban cryptocurrency trading, it would have done so on December 13, instead of releasing various regulatory frameworks that included a ban on foreigners trading cryptocurrencies.
CCN revealed the four major regulatory frameworks the South Korean government is expected to implement by January 20:
- Prevent unaccredited investors from dealing with losses through highly volatile cryptocurrencies.
- Prevent strictly regulated cryptocurrency exchanges from operating as speculative platforms for unaccredited investors.
- Request banks and exchanges to ensure underaged investors and foreigners cannot open trading accounts on cryptocurrency exchanges.
- Temporarily suspend institutional investors and retail investors from investing in cryptocurrencies.
South Korea Ministry of Strategy and Finance Releases Official Statement
The South Korea Ministry of Strategy and Finance, one of the main member agencies of the South Korean government’s cryptocurrency regulation task force, has come out and said that it does not agree with the premature statement of the Ministry of Justice about a potential cryptocurrency trading ban.
In a press conference, the South Korean Ministry of Strategy and Finance told local reporters that it had first heard of the Ministry of Justice’s cryptocurrency trading ban through media reports. The cryptocurrency task force participated by the central bank, MInistry of Finance, Ministry of Justice, and other agencies have not agreed upon the proposal.
The South Korean MInistry of Strategy and Finance emphasized that it does not agree with the proposal of the Ministry of Justice.
“We do not share the same views as the Ministry of Justice on a potential cryptocurrency exchange ban,” MSF said.
South Korea Ministry of Strategy & Finance only found out the Ministry of Justice’s #cryptocurrency trading ban proposal through media reports.
MSF is upset because central bank, MSF, MoJ are in the same crypto task force. “Other members don’t share the same viewpoint,” MSF said
Evidently, the cryptocurrency trading ban proposal has not been finalized or even agreed upon by the South Korea Ministry of Strategy and Finance.