I think the truth is in the middle, from behavior side, it behaves more like a share, a property rather than currency, people appear to speculate and trade it rather than use it mainly as form of payment, I think bitcoins failed to act as currency, I hope that future crypto currencies and the people who use them will help this perception to change.

ICO is similar is some way to IPO or Crowd funding and even VC investment where you get company share, so overall I agree with the Koreans at this time.