Presidential candidates supporting coins... 'One exchange, one bank' abolition initiative gains momentum

Presidential candidates targeting 17 million coin investors (Source: Yonhap News Agency)

As domestic virtual asset investors exceed 17 million, the 21st presidential candidates are reviewing the abolition of the ‘1 exchange 1 bank’ principle. Both Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party and Kim Moon-soo of the People’s Power Party are announcing the abolition of this system as a major pledge, forecasting a reorganization of the virtual asset market.

The ‘1 exchange 1 bank’ system is a regulation introduced to allow one virtual asset exchange to link only one specific bank account to increase account management efficiency and prevent money laundering. Accordingly, Upbit is partnered with K Bank, Bithumb with KB Kookmin Bank, Coinone with Kakao Bank, Korbit with Shinhan Bank, and Gopax with Jeonbuk Bank.

The banking sector has claimed that this regulation weakens system stability and limits consumer choice, demanding that exchanges be allowed to partner with multiple banks. In fact, Jin-Wan Jung, president of Woori Bank, expressed the opinion that it would be good to create a multilateral bank partnership system during a meeting with members of the Political Affairs Committee of the People’s Power Party.

However, the financial authorities are maintaining a cautious stance. This is because of concerns that the monopoly of virtual asset exchanges may deepen and the risk of money laundering may increase. Byung-Hwan Kim, Chairman of the Financial Services Commission, recently stated at a press conference that "There are concerns about the monopoly of some virtual asset businesses," and that they will closely examine whether banks and virtual asset businesses have properly established an anti-money laundering system.

If policy changes become a reality, it is expected that competition among domestic virtual asset exchanges will intensify, expanding the range of choices for exchange users. However, as the decision to ease regulations by the financial authorities must precede, attention is focused on how future discussions will unfold.