S Korean Regulator Unmoved by Parliamentary Call to Lift ICO Ban

South Korean financial regulators have poured cold water on calls from a parliamentary committee that wants to lift the country’s ban on initial coin offerings (ICOs).

Per Money Today, the regulatory Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) is not prepared to heed the committee’s calls at this stage. The media outlet quotes a FSS official as saying, “We will have to listen to the recommendations of the special committee and carefully review them. However, we are still taking a negative stance toward ICO permission at the moment.”

The government issued a complete ban on ICOs last year as part of an attempt to cool what it termed an “overheated” cryptocurrency market.

However, earlier this week, a parliamentary committee charged with developing Industry 4.0-friendly legislation claimed that the ICO ban was hampering blockchain development, and suggested introducing legislation that would let government authorities to allow regulated ICOs.

A spokesperson for the National Assembly’s Special Committee on Industry 4.0 explained that the body hoped to “establish a legal basis for cryptocurrency trading, including allowing ICOs.”