South Korea's New Regulatory Approach: Shareholding Restrictions for Major Exchange Shareholders Spark Academic Debate

【BlockBeats】South Korean financial regulators have recently been discussing a new idea—whether to limit the shareholding ratio of major shareholders in virtual asset exchanges to a range of 15%-20%. This proposal sparked intense discussion at the seminar on “Institutionalization of Stablecoin Issuance and Trading Infrastructure” on January 16.

Professor Moon Chul-woo from Sungkyunkwan University Business School candidly stated that forcibly compressing the shareholding ratio of major shareholders might cross a red line. He pointed out that this involves the protection of property rights and could pose constitutional risks. Interestingly, he compared this to leading global exchanges—founders of these exchanges often maintain relatively high shareholding ratios, which is not uncommon internationally. In fact, many international exchanges emphasize the founders' responsibility in management, and this regulatory restriction might be going against international trends.

Professor Kim Yun-kyung from Incheon University believed that directly intervening in the shareholding structure through ratio limits is a bit too rigid. Such measures could dampen the industry's enthusiasm for innovation. Several experts at the meeting ultimately reached a consensus—rather than resorting to aggressive measures like forced separation, it would be better to approach from other angles, such as strictly reviewing the qualifications of major shareholders, improving IPO systems, and guiding the natural dispersion of shareholding, which might yield better results.