Lee Jae-myung is now the president of South Korea. He contested as a pro-crypto leader during the elections, and on June 03, 2025, the results, he dominated other candidates in the election.
It is worth noting that the untimely elections in South Korea took place following the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol in December 2024 after the controversial six-hour imposition of martial law on December 03, 2024, citing ‘anti-state forces’ and North Korea.
The constitutional court upheld the impeachment on April 04, 2025 Yoon from office and an election within 60 days, as per the South Korean constitution.
The presidential election in South Korea was expected to occur on March 03, 2027, yet the vacancy called for early elections, in which Lee Jae-myung won historically.
According to data from South Korea’s Election Commission, Lee from the Democratic Party got 49% of the total votes, with his rival from the Conservative People’s Power Party, Kim Moon-soo, securing 41.15% votes.
The new president of SK to support crypto
Lee Jae-myung, the newly elected president of South Korea, has portrayed himself as a pro-crypto leader advocating for policies to integrate digital assets into the nation’s economy.
As per the available information, Lee also promised to legalize spot crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs), allowing Bitcoin and Ethereum to be traded easily on SK exchanges.
In his campaign and speeches over crypto, Lee emphasized creating a “ safe investment environment” for young people to make wealth from crypto.
Also, Lee proposed a stablecoin backed by the national currency of South Korea to reduce reliance on other stablecoins like USDT and USDC. He argued that this will prevent capital flight and strengthen financial sovereignty.
The newly elected president also favors the allowances of institutional investors such as the National Pension Fund to invest in crypto under a regulatory framework, aiming to boost market liquidity and mainstream adoption.
Size of the South Korean Crypto market
As per the available data, South Korea’s total value of crypto assets held in November 2024 was 102.6 trillion SK Won, which reflects a surge of 27% from the value in the first quarter of 2024.
In 2023, the revenue generated by SK’s crypto market was $838.1 million and is projected to reach $1,112.78 million by 2033 with a CAGR of 3.09%.
With a CAGR of 30.6% from 2024 to 2030, the South Korean crypto exchange platform industry is projected to reach $13,844.4 million by 2030 from its 2023 valuation of $2,135.3 million.
Crypto market price updates
Until publishing, the crypto market cap was $3.33 trillion with a slight surge of 0.75%, and the trading volume was $105.31 billion; at the same time, the crypto fear and greed index was at 56, indicating neutrality in the sentiments.
Bitcoin has reached $105,651 with a surge of 0.61% intraday, and its trading volume has crossed the mark of $40 billion, and the market cap was $2.09 trillion.
Ethereum is constantly trying to break the mark of $2,700, but currently it seems to be stuck just below $2,650, and it is currently trading at $2,642 with an increase of 1.21%.
