The 52 year old Mr. Jung Ki-Joon, who was involved framing policies for regulating cryptocurrencies, was found dead in Seoul at his home. He was also heading the Economic Policy at the Government Policy Coordination. According to media reports, he died of heart attack when he was sleeping on the night of February 18, 2018.
The South Korean Government started conducting weekly conferences since November 2017 to regulate the operations of Cryptocurrency. Mr. Jung was given the charge of regulating Cryptocurrencies by collecting the opinions of various ministries as well as offices. He was responsible for coordinating the Government policy meetings headed by the Minister Mr. Hong Nam-ki.
According to the noted officials in his office, Mr. Jung was under intense pressure in the past year due to the stressful nature of the job in developing regulations against the cryptocurrencies.
Though the death of Mr. Jung is presumed as heart attack, the police have launched a probe to ascertain the cause of his sudden death.
South Korea is the biggest market for the Cryptocurrencies across the world. The investors in this nation are under a dilemma due to lack of clear policy for the cryptocurrencies.
The ministry of Justice in South Korea has imposed a temporary ban on trading of cryptocurrencies on January 11, 2018. However, the media misinterpreted as a permanent ban in cryptocurrencies. Later, the Ministry of Strategy/ Finance has issued a report stating that it is against the ban on cryptocurrencies.
The South Korean Government responding to an online petition filed against the proposed ban on Cryptocurrencies on February 14, 2018, has informed the investors that it is not proposing any ban. Mr. Hong Nam-ki informed that there is a difference of opinion with in the government departments on cryptocurrencies. The opinions range from bringing a regular for handling the cryptocurrencies to an outright ban.
The Finance regulator/ watchdog in South Korea has issued a note a few hours back indicating that the government is committed to allowing the trading of cryptocurrencies. It has alleviated the feared ban on trading of cryptocurrencies and encouraged the banks to facilitate trading.
