Cryptocurrency has emerged as a defining issue in South Korea’s snap presidential election, with candidates vying for support from a growing base of digital asset investors across generations.

All three front-runners have rolled out crypto-friendly proposals. These include the legalization of spot Bitcoin 

BTC$108,709exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and the easing of banking rules that currently restrict fiat-to-crypto trading to just five platforms.

The June 3 vote is slated to come around two years early, triggered by the impeachment of former president Yoon Suk-yeol after his controversial declaration of martial law in late 2024. Though quickly overturned by lawmakers, the abrupt power grab led to a political crisis and his eventual removal from office.

Yoon’s 2022 campaign leaned heavily on promises to reform crypto regulations — largely aimed at younger voters. This time, the political focus on digital assets has only intensified, as older generations begin to pour significant wealth into digital assets.

Presidential election debate clash on stablecoins

This election has three leading candidates, and all of them have promised to advance the local crypto economy.

Lee Jae-myung of the opposing Democratic Party lost to Yoon in the last election and returns with a second crypto-friendly campaign.

Kim Moon-soo is running under the current ruling party, the People Power Party (PPP). Former president Yoon has distanced himself from the PPP ahead of the election, leaving Kim to define a new direction for the fractured conservative base.

Lee Jun-seok was once the youngest-ever leader of the PPP. He is now leading his own newly formed Reform Party, a minor party he founded in January 2024 after splitting with the ruling bloc.

“The political sphere has actively embraced [cryptocurrencies] as a key campaign agenda,” Park Sung-jun, head of the Blockchain Research Center at Dongguk University, told Cointelegraph.

“Driven by the transition to a digital economy, the push for transparency in political funding, the spread of blockchain-based political participation technologies and growing demands for investor protection, [crypto] has emerged as a significant economic, social and political issue in South Korea.”