South Korean lawmakers have criticized Lee Eok-won, the nominee for the publish of chairman on the Monetary Companies Fee, for getting shares within the Bitcoin (BTC)-keen US agency Technique.
Per the South Korean media retailers Jose Ilbo and News1, Lee Eok-won claimed that he had solely invested in blue-chip US shares “with a purpose to see what investor sentiment is like.”
Lee Eok-won was talking in response to lawmakers at a Nationwide Meeting affirmation listening to on September 2.
Technique Shares Controversy for FSC Nominee
The FSC is the nation’s high monetary regulator and has the ultimate say on the nation’s crypto laws. Nevertheless, President Lee Jae-myung has beforehand known as for the FSC’s abolition.
Current developments seem to recommend that the President could have reversed or delay his plans to scrap the FSC.
A number of lawmakers and media retailers have criticized the selection of Lee Eok-won as FSC chairman after discovering he has a big portfolio of abroad shares, together with NVIDIA and Tesla shares.
Critics say that this runs counter to the President’s insurance policies. Lee Jae-myung needs to breathe new life into the home inventory market, which has stagnated for a number of years.
Korea’s shopper costs rose 1.7 p.c on 12 months in August, the slowest enhance in 9 months, with a short lived reduce in cell phone expenses staving off an inverse end result of the largest leap in over two years. https://t.co/HFLGNsXmvZ
— The Korea JoongAng Each day (@JoongAngDaily) September 2, 2025
‘Not a Good Search for Gov’t’
The principle opposition Folks Energy Get together lawmaker Kim Sang-hoon took purpose on the authorities, saying:
“[Nominating Lee Eok-won] will not be search for this administration, which is supposedly making an attempt to usher within the period of the ‘KOSPI 5,000.’”
The federal government launched a particular KOSPI 5,000 committee in late June, as a part of a bid to spice up the worth of the home market by over 50%.
PPP lawmakers known as Lee Eok-won’s nomination “inappropriate” as a result of his holdings in corporations like Technique, the world’s largest Bitcoin treasury firm. The nominee responded:
“I wasn’t good at coping with shares [during my time at the ministry]. [After I left the post,] I went out and acquired some market expertise. I needed to see how the inventory market labored and see what investor sentiment was like.”
Kim, a member of the Nationwide Meeting’s Political Affairs Committee, mentioned:
“Who would select put money into the KOSPI when [the FSC Nominee] is specializing in US shares as a substitute of the home market?”
Competitors heats up between card corporations, huge tech over simple pay serviceshttps://t.co/G2HDW6KgnY
— The Korea Instances (@koreatimescokr) September 1, 2025
‘No Intrinsic Worth in Crypto’
Lee Eok-won was appointed as the primary deputy minister of the Ministry of Financial system and Finance in March 2021.
Just lately submitted knowledge reveals that the nominee’s complete inventory and fund investments are price 71.26 million gained (over $51,000). He invested virtually $8,000 of this quantity in direct US inventory purchases, together with Technique shares.
Lee Eok-won has additionally confronted criticism this week from crypto advocates after his feedback on the worth of cryptoassets.
The nominee mentioned that BTC and different cash have “no intrinsic worth” and couldn’t be categorized as currencies or monetary merchandise.
He additionally poured chilly water on speak that the federal government and pension funds could possibly be allowed to launch strategic Bitcoin reserves.
Home crypto advocates declare that statements like these sound like they belong to a bygone period. They are saying that regulatory chiefs in South Korea made related feedback through the Bitcoin growth of 2017-2018.
President Lee Jae Myung will be a part of world leaders on the United Nations Normal Meeting in New York on Sept. 23, delivering a keynote deal with that can contact on the Korean Peninsula, democracy and international challenges.https://t.co/Xn8FixQpCZ
— The Korea Instances (@koreatimescokr) September 2, 2025
Critics Name Feedback ‘Outdated’
News1 wrote that a number of crypto trade insiders suppose that Lee Eok-won’s perspective lags “behind international developments.”
An unnamed crypto trade worker mentioned that Lee Eok-won’s feedback mirrored “an invalid and inappropriate opinion. The identical particular person mentioned:
“The argument that crypto has no intrinsic worth is inappropriate at a time when massive US and different international firms are utilizing cryptoassets as strategic reserves. Cryptoassets like Bitcoin possess digital utility, together with safety and transferability.”
Lee Eok-won was non-committal when requested in regards to the possibilities of the FSC approving a Bitcoin ETF. He mentioned:
“I perceive that there are numerous expectations and considerations in regards to the impression of introducing a Bitcoin spot ETF. We are going to assess international regulatory developments to determine a potential methodology of introduction […] and talk about the matter with the Nationwide Meeting.”
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