Share this article
Crypto Corrupts the Youth? South Korea Prime Minister Says So
Prime Minister Lee Nak-yeon reportedly frets about kids selling drugs and pyramid schemes while regulators draft rules for South Korea's exchanges.
Updated Sep 13, 2021, 7:12 a.m. Published Nov 29, 2017, 11:00 p.m.
South Korea's prime minister is reportedly raising alarms about cryptocurrency's influence on young people as regulators draw up rules for the country's exchanges.
"There are cases in which young Koreans including students are jumping in to make quick money and virtual currencies are used in illegal activities like drug dealing or multi-level marketing for frauds," Prime Minister Lee Nak-yeon said in a statement translated from Korean by CNBC.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters
He added:
"This can lead to serious distortion or social pathological phenomena, if left unaddressed."
Accordingly, the South Korean leader called on government agencies such as the Ministry of Justice to look into the matter, CNBC reported.
Separately, the Financial Services Commission (FSC) is putting the finishing touches on proposed regulations for South Korea's exchanges, the Hankyoreh newspaper reported.
"Cryptocurrency exchanges will be required to maintain standards for consumer protection, such as having separate deposits for customers’ assets, and for increasing transparency, such as having a procedure for confirming customers’ identity," the publication quoted an unnamed official as saying. "The authorities will also be empowered to prosecute exchanges that break these rules."
Crypto hotspot
These shots across the bow come as South Korea has emerged as a hub of trading activity in bitcoin and other crypto assets. The country is home to two of the top 10 bitcoin exchanges by volume, according to CoinMarketCap.
South Korean exchanges were the first places where the bitcoin price reached $10,000 in this week's run-up. During the third quarter, the South Korean Won passed the U.S. dollar as ether’s top trade pair, according to CoinDesk's latest quarterly State of Blockchain Report.
But South Korean regulators have already taken stern measures in the crypto asset market. In September, the FSC banned domestic initial coin offerings and declared violators would be dealt with in a Virtual Currency Detention Center.
Photo of Prime Minister Lee Nak-yeon via Shutterstock.
More For You
What to know:
- As of October 2025, GoPlus has generated $4.7M in total revenue across its product lines. The GoPlus App is the primary revenue driver, contributing $2.5M (approx. 53%), followed by the SafeToken Protocol at $1.7M.
- GoPlus Intelligence's Token Security API averaged 717 million monthly calls year-to-date in 2025 , with a peak of nearly 1 billion calls in February 2025. Total blockchain-level requests, including transaction simulations, averaged an additional 350 million per month.
- Since its January 2025 launch , the $GPS token has registered over $5B in total spot volume and $10B in derivatives volume in 2025. Monthly spot volume peaked in March 2025 at over $1.1B , while derivatives volume peaked the same month at over $4B.
More For You
Bitcoin’s Deep Correction Sets Stage for December Rebound, Says K33 Research
K33 Research says market fear is outweighing fundamentals as bitcoin nears key levels. December could offer an entry point for bold investors.
What to know:
- K33 Research says bitcoin’s steep correction shows signs of bottoming, with December potentially marking a turning point.
- The firm has argued that the market is overreacting to long-term risks while ignoring near-term signals of strength, like low leverage and solid support levels.
- With likely policy shifts ahead and cautious positioning in futures, K33 sees more upside potential than risk of another major collapse.
Top Stories
