"Really Advising Not to Touch"… These People Summoned as Bitcoin Hits 130 Million Won

Yoo Si-min, in the past "I advise not to touch it"
"It has all the elements of gambling"...strongly criticizes

As Bitcoin, the leading global cryptocurrency, continues to hit record highs and touch the 130 million KRW mark, some investors have started to revisit those who criticized Bitcoin in the past.

On the 20th, various domestic cryptocurrency communities have once again focused on past remarks made by Yoo Si-min, former director of the People’s Livelihoods Foundation and the Roh Moo-hyun Foundation. Previously, Yoo appeared on JTBC's 'Ssulzun' in December 2017, where he delivered strong criticism of the cryptocurrency investment craze.

At the time, he said, "As someone who majored in economics, I strongly advise against touching (Bitcoin)." He added, "It is like Bada Story (a gambling game). It has all the elements of gambling."

At the end of 2017, Yoo Si-min, former director of the Roh Moo-hyun Foundation, appeared on JTBC's "Ssulzun" expressing a skeptical opinion about Bitcoin. Photo by JTBC

Yoo graduated from Seoul National University with a degree in economics and earned a master's degree in economics from the University of Mainz in Germany. He stated, "The basic condition of currency is stability of value," and warned, "If the value fluctuates wildly, it loses its function as currency."

His skepticism about Bitcoin did not stop there. In 2018, during an appearance on TBS Radio's 'Kim Eo-jun's News Factory,' he described Bitcoin as "the most complicated and elegant scam in human history," and claimed, "Due to increasing mining costs and other factors, a dead cross will occur, making the possibility of a crash 99.999%."

In an interview with JoongAng Ilbo the same year, he also warned, "Even high school students are putting their own money (into coins) now," and cautioned, "People will keep buying until the bubble fully inflates. Those who jump into the speculative market and lose money should not blame the government or society."

A petition posted in opposition to cryptocurrency regulations. Screenshot from the national petition board.

At the time Yoo expressed his views on Bitcoin, the cryptocurrency market experienced extreme volatility due to regulatory concerns from financial authorities worldwide. In 2018 alone, Bitcoin prices plummeted by as much as 73%. However, the following year saw a 94% increase, recovering lost value, and thereafter, the market experienced repeated so-called "bull runs." As of 1:30 PM on the 20th, the price stands at around $92,000 (approximately 130 million KRW).

Park Sang-ki, former Minister of Justice from 2017 to 2019, is also being revisited. When Bitcoin surpassed $10,000 (about 13.9 million KRW) in November 2017, Park held a meeting in January the following year, effectively classifying cryptocurrency as gambling and announced considerations for measures such as halting transactions.

Former Minister of Justice Park Sang-ki. Photo by Yonhap News

At the time, the 2030 generation, who were favorable toward cryptocurrency investment, strongly opposed this. A public petition titled "Oppose cryptocurrency regulation, has the government ever let the people dream a happy dream even once?" gathered over 200,000 signatures. Facing strong public opposition, the government eventually decided to step back.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin prices experienced another boom following the election of former U.S. President Donald Trump, riding the so-called "Trump trade" wave. Trump was a proponent of cryptocurrency and during his presidential campaign proposed a policy to strategically stockpile Bitcoin. However, the feasibility of this policy was reported to be uncertain.