In quite an unusual manner, South Korean presidential candidate Lee Jae-Myung of the Democratic Party (DP), is set to raise funds for his campaign using nonfungible tokens (NFTs).
According to reports, those who donate money for the campaign will have NFTs issued back to them by the party, even as momentum builds in anticipation for the upcoming presidential elections. As gathered, these NFTs will contain the images of the candidate and his pledges.
South Korean Presidential Candidate Looks To Connect To The Youthful Side of the Country
As expected, the move was to appeal to the youthful side of the South Korean populace. This was confirmed by campaign official Kim Nam-kook when he said the same during an interview with Yonhap News. He says:
“As the young generation in their 20s and 30s are interested in emerging technologies, including virtual assets, NFTs and the metaverse, this type of fundraising could appeal to them”
Apart from the idea of using NFTs for campaigns, the DP is also looking for ways to integrate other evolving technologies such as accepting crypto donations.
As if to say the party reached a consensus regarding crypto, another DP member also announced recently, that he would be accepting crypto donations.
Representative Lee Kwang-Jae mentioned that politicians and leaders should lead by example by changing their views about NFTs and digital currencies, and embracing digital transformations.
Lee also noted that existent policies are still a far cry from how far digital developments have come, so there is a lot of catching up that needs to be done in that regard.
Regulations Around NFTs in South Korea Remain Unclear
Interestingly, the decision by the South Korean presidential candidate to use NFTs in his campaign, comes amid some uncertainty with the regulatory authorities.
Recall that back in November, the South Korean Financial Services Commission (FSC) announced that it would not be regulating NFTs. However, it took only a few weeks later for the regulator to go back on its earlier decision, announcing that by January 2022, NFTs would be taxable.
Meanwhile, the new law will require a 20% tax payment on any digital asset income that exceeds 2.5 million won ($2,100). However, the implementation of the tax was delayed for one year due to flaws pointed out by the DP.
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