Lee Joo-yeol, Governor of the South Korean Central Bank of Korea (BOK), announced that bitcoin would be regulated only as a currency. The governor, however, said the central bank will not launch the settlement very soon.
During the audit of BOK by the National Assembly, Lee claimed that digital currencies like Bitcoin can not be considered money based on the definition of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS )
"It is difficult to regard [virtual currencies] as money by [the definition] the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) Regulation (virtual currencies) is appropriate because It is considered as a commodity It [cannot be] settled at the level of a currency. "
The latest actions of South Korea on virtual currencies
To quickly tackle cryptocurrency problems, the South Korean government set up a digital currency working group in 2016 to study the regulatory and licensing parameters for Bitcoin and Bitcoin trading. At the beginning of June 2017, a CNN report indicated that study participants "were unable to hear about the integration of cryptocurrencies into systems and the operation of the systems." 39, they are included. "
Financial regulator, the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) issued a ban on initial offers of coins (OIC) guided by the working group. The purpose of the ban is to protect investors against possible fraud. This decision has led to worry about a campaign against the local market of digital currency trading in the country, similar to the crackdown recently launched by the Chinese government.
FSS Vice President Kim Yong-bum was quoted as saying that ICOs increase the risk of fraud, so a ban will be applied.
"We are concerned about the negative effects such as the increased risk of fraud, the ICO will be banned in all its forms."