Lee Seok-woo "IEO Discussion Needed... Digital Asset Market Should Be Viewed from a Different Perspective"

Lee Seok-woo, CEO of Dunamu, raised the need for discussions on Initial Exchange Offerings (IEO) for virtual asset exchanges. Previously, President Yoon Seok-yeol had pledged support for IEO during his presidential campaign.

The Korea Economic Law Association, Seoul National University Korea Economic Innovation Center, and Dunamu held 'DCON 2023: Digital Asset Conference for Healthy Market Formation' on the 16th at Conrad Seoul in Yeouido.

At the event, CEO Lee stated, "Digital assets are distinguished from traditional markets by their characteristic of being traded regardless of borders and time," adding, "Therefore, it is necessary to view the digital asset market from a perspective different from that of traditional markets."

He continued, "Although the government has expressed its intention to promote this, there is a need for in-depth discussions on IEO, which have not been thoroughly addressed so far," emphasizing, "Furthermore, it is necessary to encourage active participation from innovative blockchain companies in the token securities market to create digital financial innovation." IEO refers to the public offering of coins by exchanges.

Professor Kim Byung-yeon of Konkuk University Law School, who presented at the event, explained IEO as "the issuance of coins or tokens on a distributed ledger network under the management of virtual asset service providers for fundraising purposes, which can be considered a virtual asset offering (ICO) that enhances the certification effect of the virtual assets sold by leading the procedures for new listings of virtual assets by the service providers."

He added, "Since the responsibility for IEO lies with digital asset exchanges, there is a need for management and supervisory authority over digital asset issuers (projects)," and "Establishing related legal systems is necessary to ensure responsible operation of IEOs by exchanges."

Discussions on token securities also continued. Senior Research Fellow Kim Gap-rae stated the policy direction for token securities, saying, "When issuing token securities, it is necessary to adopt blockchain technology while maximizing the use of existing infrastructure for the distribution system to balance the advantages of security tokens and investor protection."

He added, "To prevent the fractional investment market from turning into a speculative low-priced securities market, it is necessary to strengthen investment solicitation guidelines for related financial investment businesses," explaining, "The tokenization of assets must ensure the appropriateness of asset valuation and prevent the transfer of asset default risks so as not to cause side effects similar to those caused by past asset securitization." He further stated, "The token securities market should be revitalized by verifying the stability of the issuance and distribution system and investor trustworthiness."