Lawmaker Ha Tae-kyung of the minor Barun Mirae Party called on the Moon Jae-in administration to stop its cynical view on the blockchain and cryptocurrency market.

In a seminar Tuesday at the National Assembly, he said it is wrong for the government to exclude cryptocurrency startups from the list of promising venture firms eligible for state incentives. He commented the government wrongly link cryptocurrencies to gambling, entertainment, and risky investments.

“Unless such a negative perception changes among policymakers, South Korea’s blockchain, and cryptocurrency industry would fall behind the global competition,’’ he added.

He praised the Moon administration for seeking inter-Korean détente, but the incumbent government may retard the development of the Korean economy by blocking the growth of the blockchain industry. He said he would push for bipartisan support for the legislation of the blockchain-related laws.