Lee Eok-Won, the candidate of the South Korean Financial Services Commission, obtained strong criticism this week after dismissing Crypto for lacking any real value in his written testimony before confirmation hearings, local media reported on September 1.
Lee said that digital assets do not have an intrinsic value in the same way as bank deposits or deposits, and argued that their price changes undermine their ability to act as money. In addition, he declared that the extreme volatility experienced by digital assets makes them inappropriate as a value store or as a means of exchange.
Lee’s position is consistent with the government’s opinion that digital assets are not legal or financial products under the financial regulatory regime.
The nominee to the president of the FSC warned against allowing retirement and pension funds to invest in the sector, but expressed its opening to the regulation of the stable, noting that they could be handled with safeguards while leaving space for innovation.
Industry setback
The country’s blockchain sector rejected the comments, and many in the industry argue that the statement ignores the income and adoption that is generated throughout the industry.
Since 2022, cryptographic adoption in South Korea has increased from approximately 9.7 million investors to more than 16 million in early 2025, which represents more than 30% of the population and has grown more than 60% in just over two years.
Commercial activity in local exchanges has sometimes exceeded the volumes of the stock market, and total holdings have risen over 102 billion KRW ($ 70 billion), highlighting how digital assets have quickly become a conventional investment option for South Koreans.
Xangle analyst, a local data firm, accused Lee of trusting obsolete arguments that are ever common among traditional financial leaders.
He noticed Reforcen of Token and Platform Income Flows such as Hyperliquid, Tron and Ethena as evidence of value creation comparable to corporate actions.
POLICY CAUTION AGAINST Retail Demand
The regulators of South Korea have reinforced the restrictions in recent months as the retail interest continues to rise in the country.
The Financial Supervision Service advised national asset administrators to reduce return holdings in crypto -related actions, while the FSC ordered exchanges to stop providing loan services backed by digital assets or fiduciary deposits.
Despite the strictest position, retail enthusiasm for cryptography continues to rise. Investors sold hundreds of millions of dollars in Tesla shares in August, the largest disposition since the beginning of last year, while directeding funds to cryptographic representatives such as Bitmine, which recently became the largest head of Ethereum.
The data also showed a strong decrease in the purchases of South Korea of the main American technological actions compared to earlier this year.
The contrasting positions between regulators and investors leave open questions about how the administration of President Lee Jae-Myung will balance caution with the growing appetite of the public for digital assets.
