The upcoming legislative polls in South Korea may be influenced by the crypto-related promises made by the two main parties. With a significant number of crypto investors in the country, even a small percentage of voters casting their ballot based on crypto policies could have an impact on the election result. Young people, who make up the majority of the crypto ecosystem, are expected to play a crucial role in the election. The conservative People Power Party (PPP) plans to prioritize the establishment of a regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies before implementing any taxation policies, while the liberal Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) proposes a comprehensive framework but wants to maintain the start of crypto taxation in 2025. Both parties are competing for the support of crypto-savvy voters, but it is unlikely that market regulation will be implemented during this election year.

According to a report by the University of Calgary, Bitcoin prices in South Korea are often higher than in other markets due to the country's relatively "closed" market and high demand for cryptocurrency. From January 2016 to February 2018, the kimchi premium averaged 4.73%, reaching 54.48% in January 2018.

South Korean Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) announced it is looking for investment managers to create and manage a 50 billion won (approximately 34.78 million USD) metaverse fund aimed at supporting small and medium-risk enterprises in the metaverse field.

Digital Asset reported that on February 28, the digital asset market trading volume of the five major Korean won cryptocurrency exchanges exceeded 80 trillion won (approximately 5.9 billion US dollars), which doubled compared to the approximately 44.17 trillion won on February 26. It is reported that among these exchanges, Coinone has the largest increase in trading volume, which increased from 50.8 billion won to 129.5 billion won in two days, an increase of 155%; followed by Upbit, whose trading volume increased by 126% in two days, Bithumb increased by 64%, while Corbit and Gopax's trading volume decreased by 72% and 92%, respectively.

The head of the South Korean financial regulatory agency will meet with Gary Gensler, the chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, in May of this year to discuss the classification of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and approve spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds. Currently, South Korea does not classify NFTs as "virtual assets" because the government believes that their impact on the financial market is minimal compared to cryptocurrencies. Lee Bok-hyun, the head of the Financial Supervisory Service, plans to discuss whether NFTs should be legally classified as virtual assets with Gensler, as speculation surrounding NFTs increases with the value of major cryptocurrencies.

Gyeonggi, South Korea's most populous province, has recovered $4.6 million from 2,390 crypto tax evaders out of the 5,910 identified, thanks to a new digital tracking system. The system uses the local registration number of delinquents to reveal their mobile numbers, which are then used to track linked accounts on crypto exchanges. The system has reduced the previous six-month process of requesting information from crypto exchanges to just 15 days. South Korea has been investigating some firms for tax evasion while repeatedly delaying the implementation of its tax policies on crypto earnings.

The ruling party in South Korea has begun pushing for a two-year delay in the implementation of the cryptocurrency capital gains tax as part of its election promise for the upcoming April elections. Local media, "Pioneer Business Daily," reported that the party believes that taxation of cryptocurrencies is only possible after establishing this basic framework. A representative of the party also emphasized that the tax base has not yet been determined. The official explained that, unlike stock exchanges, no entity is authorized to supervise cryptocurrency transactions. The party believes that it will take two years to establish such a system. The ruling party official also said that taxes should protect the country's property and life, and pointed out that some aspects of the government have "ignored" the cryptocurrency market so far. It is reported that the implementation of this tax has been delayed several times. The initial plan was to implement the tax in 2022. However, lawmakers reached an agreement to delay the implementation of the tax until 2023, citing flaws in the information collection process carried out by the National Tax Service (NTS). In July 2022, government officials announced another two-year delay in the implementation of a 20% cryptocurrency capital gains tax. This time, lawmakers mentioned the stagnant market conditions in the cryptocurrency field and the need for time to prepare investor protection measures.

Due to South Korean financial authorities encouraging the proactive reporting of suspicious transactions related to virtual assets, the number of suspicious transaction reports from virtual asset operators increased by 49% compared to the previous year. On February 14th, the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of the Financial Services Commission of South Korea announced that the number of suspicious transaction reports received by virtual asset exchanges and other virtual asset business operators increased by 49% compared to the previous year, and the proportion of STR in the total also increased from 1.2% to 1.7%.

South Korea's financial regulator has announced that crypto criminals could be sentenced to life imprisonment under new consumer protection rules set to take effect on July 19. The Virtual Asset User Protection Act covers market manipulation, illegal trading, and other violations that could lead to criminal punishment or fines. The punishment for criminal offenses could include a fixed-term imprisonment of more than one year or a fine equivalent to three to five times the amount of unjust enrichment. The country has been increasing its oversight of the digital assets sector, with approved initiatives requiring companies and public figures to disclose their crypto holdings.

South Korean prosecutors have issued an arrest warrant for Bang, a key figure in the investigation into the suspension of withdrawals by local cryptocurrency loan company Delio and investment company Haru Invest. Bang owns a large portion of B&S Holdings, and Haru Invest claims that the company is the root cause of the service suspension. Due to local media privacy regulations, Bang's full name has not been disclosed. On June 14, 2023, Delio claimed to have processed over $1 billion worth of cryptocurrency in its lending service, and the company suspended user withdrawals. Delio attributed this suspension to Haru Invest, a cryptocurrency investment management company that suddenly stopped depositing and withdrawing funds from Delio. On the same day, Haru filed a criminal lawsuit against consignment operator B&S Holdings, accusing the company of deceiving it by providing false management reports. According to a previous report by Digital Asset, Haru claimed that B&S lost 350 billion won ($262 million) in funds in the collapsed FTX exchange.