Eun-bo Jeong, Chairman of the South Korea Exchange, has expressed interest in pursuing the approval of cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds (ETFs) as part of efforts to revitalize the country’s financial markets.
South Korean media outlet The Fact reported that during his address at the 2025 Securities and Derivatives Market Opening Ceremony on January 2, 2025, Jeong stressed the importance of alternative assets like crypto ETFs to attract investors back to the market, which has been shaken by political instability.
According to him, the recent political turmoil catalyzed a mass sell-off in the stock markets, underscoring the need to diversify South Korea’s economic landscape.
Jeong stated that the exchange would benchmark international cases to explore new sectors, such as cryptocurrency ETFs and other areas of the capital market. He highlighted the potential of crypto ETFs to rejuvenate the market and appeal to both foreign and domestic investors.
He also reaffirmed his commitment to South Korea’s corporate value-up program, which aids investors in assessing company performance to drive value enhancement. He promised more new developments aimed at strengthening the country’s financial market, such as improving the market surveillance infrastructure, including the central short-selling inspection system and introducing a next-generation surveillance system.
Notably, Jeong has been a proponent of granting full government backing to cryptocurrencies in South Korea. He recently warned that failing to institutionalize the crypto market could hinder South Korea’s competitiveness. He pointed out that cryptocurrency trading volumes have already surpassed the domestic stock market, with the virtual currency market now exceeding an average daily trading volume of 20 trillion won ($13.9 billion).
Meanwhile, at the same event, Financial Services Commission (FSC) Chairman Kim Byung-hwan signalled strong interest in enabling security token offerings (STOs) in 2025. Kim described STOs as vital for diversifying securities issuance and fostering corporate growth.
Kim had earlier argued that South Korea should focus on integrating its digital asset market with existing financial systems instead of establishing a national Bitcoin reserve like some other countries are trying to do.
In his latest speech, the country’s securities regulator boss detailed plans to enhance the IPO system and introduce measures to ensure fair and rational public offering prices for companies issuing security tokens. He also noted efforts to institutionalize STOs, fragmented investment platforms, and stock platforms to expand the securities issuance and distribution system.
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