LG Group Hosts Super Start Day to Promote Innovation and Collaboration in Blockchain and More

NEOPIN and SBINFT Join Forces to Expand DeFi and NFT EcosystemsNEOPIN, the global CeDeFi platform of South Korean investment holding company Neowiz Holdings, announced today its strategic partnership with SBINFT, the NFT marketplace developer and Web3 subsidiary of Japanese online financial conglomerate SBI Holdings.Photo by Markus Winkler on PexelsExtending their global reachThrough this partnership, the two companies will combine their individual expertise to enhance the global reach of each other’s ecosystems. Their strategy involves facilitating the introduction of established NFT projects from regions such as South Korea, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia into the Japanese market. Additionally, they will collaborate to offer both financial and technical assistance to promising Japanese Web3 initiatives, enabling them to expand internationally.Web3 projects and utility NFTsTo achieve this objective, NEOPIN will onboard a diverse range of Web3 projects to its ecosystem, thereby broadening their adoption and appealing to a worldwide user base. Meanwhile, SBINFT will proactively seek to bring utility NFTs into its NFT marketplace.NEOPIN’s partnership with SBINFT is a strategic step in its plan to enter the Japanese market. Just recently, the South Korean enterprise revealed its proactive approach to intensify endeavors to attract a Japanese customer base.Kim Yong-ki, NEOPIN’s CEO, mentioned that the collaboration with SBINFT represents one of their initial endeavors to penetrate the Japanese market. Kim further stated that NEOPIN is dedicated to achieving favorable outcomes not only within Japan but also across the East Asian region.Ko Jang-deok, CEO of SBINFT, echoed this sentiment, expressing that NEOPIN possesses a robust strategy tailored for the Japanese market. He mentioned that the partnership with such a company will help SBINFT introduce international content to the Japanese market. Ko highlighted SBINFT’s commitment to extending its presence in the East Asian market.

Wemade and Mystic Games to bring two new games to WEMIX PLAYWemade has signed a deal with game development studio Mystic Games to onboard Mystic Games’ two new blockchain role-playing games (RPG), Call of the VoYd and Heroes of the VoYd, to WEMIX PLAY, Wemade’s blockchain gaming platform, according to an official announcement by WEMIX on Tuesday. Mystic Games is a subsidiary of the Swedish gaming company App Creation Experts and the first Swedish firm to onboard WEMIX PLAY.Photo by Priscilla Du Preez 🇨🇦 on UnsplashForging a future of versatile gaming experiencesMystic Games plans to implement inter-game play mechanisms between the two games, meaning that tokens and NFTs from both games can be used interchangeably.“We believe in a future where your time and skill in gaming can be just as valuable as your time spent working and with other hobbies,” said Matthew Buxton, CEO of Mystic Games. “We look forward to a bright future together.”This collaboration signifies WEMADE’s foray into the Swedish gaming market and aims to bring innovative and fun blockchain gaming experiences through Mystic Games’ titles on the WEMIX PLAY platform.Engaging adventuresCall of the VoYd is an active roguelite survival shooting game that involves battling various characters from beasts of ancient worlds to futuristic monster robots. Heroes of the VoYd offers a similar experience where players can battle monsters, but it mainly differs in its idle gameplay.

South Korea Advances Crypto Disclosures Bill for LawmakersThe floor leader of the ruling political party in the South Korean Assembly is urging faster implementation of a new bill that will require Korean politicians and senior government officials to make a declaration of any crypto-related holdings.The bill was already in the works but is now picking up speed, and likely to be brought into effect earlier than expected. That’s according to a local report published by Yonhap news agency. The bill is being finalized against the backdrop of a particularly poignant political controversy.Photo by rawkkim on UnsplashPolitical controversyLawmaker and former Democratic Party of Korea opposition party member Kim Nam-kuk is at the center of a political fuss, and with that, intense scrutiny relative to his interaction with crypto-assets. Kim reportedly held 800,000 WEMIX tokens in early 2022, with a value in the region of 6 billion Korean won (around $4.5 million).Existing legislation provides for a need for Korean politicians to disclose their investments and wealth. However, that provision has not caught up with the digital asset era. Virtual assets had been an exception which lawmakers are now rushing to remedy.Once news of Kim’s crypto holding emerged, it led to suspicion and accusations of insider trading. The politician had made a number of crypto trades during the time in which he was actively working on digital asset legislation. As the controversy gathered more attention, it led to the offices of two of the country’s leading crypto exchanges, Bithumb and Upbit, being raided. Records related to Kim’s crypto trading activity were seized.Bringing forward enforcement dateThe bill that will remedy circumstances like the one that has arisen as a result of Kim’s crypto trading activity is being put forward by Yun Jae-ok, the floor leader of the ruling party. It had originally been scheduled to be implemented in December, but Yun is looking to have the bill amended so that the enforcement date of the proposed legislation takes place in two months.“Given the current high level of public interest, especially regarding lawmakers, it’s not appropriate to enforce the law six months later after the promulgation,” Yun told Yonhap news agency. It’s understood that Yun has asked the leader of the Public Administration Committee to put forward the modified version of the law.The legislative process in South Korea requires initial drafting of the bill, followed by the proposed legislation being scrutinized by a number of relevant committees, inclusive of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee. An assembly debate follows, and beyond that, it’s expected that there will be a vote on the legislation, which has been scheduled for Friday.Should the bill be carried following the vote, the approved bill then proceeds to the President. So long as it is not vetoed, it is presented to the public and becomes law.On an international basis, financial interest disclosure requirements are common. Taking the US and the UK as examples, both jurisdictions require their politicians to disclose financial holdings. However, it would appear that South Korea is about to enact an advanced form of such legislation comparatively, as currently in both the US and UK, there is no specific provision requiring politicians to disclose crypto holdings.