In South Korea, 16 crypto exchanges accused of violating the law

The Financial Services Commission of South Korea (FSC) has charged 16 overseas cryptocurrency platforms with providing services to residents without registration. This was reported by News1.

Among them are KuCoin, MEXC, Phemex, XTcom, Bitrue, ZBcom, Bitglobal, CoinW, CoinEX, AAX, ZoomEX, Poloniex, BTCEX, BTCC, DigiFinex, Pionex.

These firms organised events and offered services on their Korean-language sites. They also offered incentives for purchasing cryptocurrencies with credit cards. The issuers of the latter could also face sanctions.

“Unregistered operators of virtual assets may be exposed to risks such as personal data leaks and hacking. The information security management system (ISMS) is not properly configured. There is a risk of money laundering.”, — according to the statement.

Under the Special Financial Information Act, platforms that operate with South Korean citizens must undergo ISMS certification and report this to the FSC’s Financial Intelligence Unit.

Violators face up to five years in prison and a fine of 50 million won (~$38,150). Such companies will not be able to operate in the country for the next five years.

Earlier in July, the FSS began an investigation into alleged assistance by local banks for cross-border transfers to crypto exchanges totaling $6.5 billion, which were associated with the “kimchi premium.”

In the same month, the government of the country postponed the introduction of a tax on bitcoin traders until January 1, 2025.

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