The South Korean Finance Minister, Hong Nam-Ki, announced plans to impose a tax on cryptocurrency, while speaking to the parliamentary finance committee on June 17. According to a report from local news outlet, Korea JoongAng Daily, the ministry will reveal further details of the plan next month. Hong told the committee that the government: “Has continued to realign its tax system to reflect changes in market conditions, but it is especially working to refine its list of taxable items and types of tax this year.” Previous crypto tax proposals As Cointelegraph reported, the ministry was considering a 20% tax on …

After a week of searches, it appears that the culprit behind at least two of the anomalous high fee transactions on Ether (ETH) was found. As reported by Chinese blockchain analytics company PeckShield on June 16, the originating address appears to be coming from Korean platform GoodCycle, a recently launched peer-to-peer exchange that provides “investment” opportunities to its users. According to PeckShield, this platform shows all the signs of a Ponzi scheme, which would explain its rapid rise in popularity. The analysts conducted a thorough blockchain analysis and found that a wallet beginning with “0xcdd6a2b” was the origin of the …

South Korea's central bank, the Bank of Korea, has formed a legal advisory group to evaluate issues surrounding a potential central bank-issued digital currency (CBDC) launch. According to a press release the central bank issued earlier today, the group includes six experts, namely three professors, two lawyers and one BOK official. The panel will reportedly operate until May 2020, although the BOK’s CBDC plans are not set in stone. Notably, back in April the central bank launched a 22 month-long pilot scheme to assess the logistics of issuing a CBDC, meaning that the program will operate longer than the newly …

On June 11, South Korean experts stated through local media that cryptocurrencies are a “poor choice” of safe-haven assets during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to The Scoop, Professor Hong Ki-hoon of Hongik University stated that crypto-assets like Bitcoin (BTC) should not be considered as “safe-haven assets,” at the level of Gold, dollars, or even the U.S. Treasury bonds. He does not deny, however, that volatility in the financial markets is causing more money to accumulate in the crypto market. Cryptos are not safe from the Pandemic Hong, from the Business Administration department of Hongik University, says: “To be a safe-haven, …

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency launched a criminal investigation on June 12, leading to the search and seizure of two unnamed cryptocurrency exchanges. These efforts were enacted with the hope of dismantling an Ethereum (ETH) crime ring worth $41.5M. According to Joongang Ilbo, the alleged crime network promoted its business model as a multi-level marketing scheme, or MLM. More than 1,500 people are believed to have sent their crypto assets to the scammers. “Huge returns” promised with ETH investments Reports indicate that the company’s CEO, identified by the name “Mr. Shin,” was investigated and received a court order prohibiting him …

Major South Korean insurance firm KB Insurance plans to implement a blockchain-enabled mobile message delivery system for its clients. According to a June 9 report by industry news outlet Ledger Insights, KB will use the system jointly developed with local telecommunication firm KT Corp starting next month. The service will at first deliver payment and termination notices to auto insurance customers, but the firm plans to expand it to all its customers. The purpose is to reduce mailing costs and non-delivery of notifications. Blockchain ensures the message delivery The new message delivery solution uses blockchain to send insurance policy changes …

South Korean media outlets suggest that local merchants could accept the upcoming digital yuan as a payment method once the COVID-19 pandemic passes and Chinese tourist flow increases in the country. According to news agency Yonhap, domestic merchants have been increasingly considering taking advantage of China’s upcoming digital currency, citing some tourist shops in their examples. Taking advantage of Chinese tourism The report details that in Seoul’s Myeongdong district, some stores have been accepting payments using Alipay, thus showing interest in customers from China. Reports indicate that the COVID-19 crisis has caused damages close to $2 billion in tourism income. …

South Korea’s NH NongHyup Bank has announced a new consortium with a local law firm and a blockchain laboratory to jointly develop digital asset-based financial services. According to the Korea Herald on June 10, the bank signed a memorandum of understanding with law firm Bae, Kim and Lee, and blockchain developer, Hexlant. The consortium intends to research and develop cryptocurrency exchanges. Crypto exchanges permitted The move follows the passing of a bill by the South Korean National Assembly in March, which focused on the introduction of a permit system for cryptocurrency exchanges. To maintain a permit, exchanges will have to …

Busan, the second-largest city in South Korea, has launched an identification app that uses a public blockchain to verify citizen information. The app was developed by Coinplug, a Korean startup working within the regulatory sandbox of the Busan blockchain regulation-free zone. The developer used the Metadium blockchain and its Decentralized Identifier technology to power the app. Through this system, user data is stored on their devices, and only a cryptographic proof of the information is submitted to the blockchain. This strikes a balance between personal data privacy and the need to create tamper-proof records. Normally, the latter can only be …

South Korean tech giant, Kakao, listed its Klaytn blockchain-issued Klay (KLAY) token via a local cryptocurrency exchange on June 5. This news follows their launch of a new crypto wallet feature in KakaoTalk earlier the week. After registering over 100,000 users thanks to their new crypto-related features, Tech M reports that Kakao reached an agreement with Coinone to list its KLAY tokens. A Klay-South Korean won pairing is now live trading in one of the top four crypto exchanges in the country. ICOs are still illegal in South Korea The move is significant for Kakao, considering that initial coin offerings, …

South Korean company, Kakao, announced that its new crypto wallet function surpassed 100,000 users in less than a day in its chat app, KakaoTalk. The feature went live on June 3. According to the internet giant, KakaoTalk’s Klip was launched with support for 11 cryptocurrencies. Nearly 90% of the country’s population currently uses the chat app, and the company hopes to draw them all into the crypto sphere. Klip is a mobile wallet that allows users to experience digital assets like Klay (KLAY), BOX, Pet (BPT), PIBBLE (PIB), HINT, ENT (ATT), TEMCO, Binz (BNS), Pixel (PXL), Insurium (ISR), and Cosm …

A representative of LG’s information technology subsidiary, LG CNS, told Cointelegraph that blockchain-based identity systems could become the new standard for login functions. When asked about why the firm is pursuing the development of blockchain-based ID services, LG CNS said that it expects such systems to become “a hot topic for blockchain in the future.” The company also suggested that “maybe all login functions can be replaced.” As Cointelegraph reported at the end of May, LG CNS partnered with U.S. firm Evernym to develop blockchain identity technology. The two firms aim to jointly develop an international digital identity standard for …