The authorities in South Korea will help VASP strengthen compliance with the law and bolster measures to combat crime. The decisionwas made following a meeting between the Financial Intelligence Agency and five leading industry players.
Among them are: Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Corbit, Gopax.
“We plan to strengthen the compliance framework and increase the predictability of its application,” — the document says.
The day before, the government launched a division to combat cryptocurrency crime. The initiative is driven by a surge in illicit activity in the digital-asset market and the lack of legal protection for investors.
The so-called Unified Center for Crypto-Crime Investigations will be staffed by 30 investigators from the Prosecutor’s Office, the Financial Supervisory Service, the National Tax Service and the Korea Customs Service.
Officials at the Prosecutor’s Office explained that the structure would fill the gap in investor protection until the digital-asset market begins to be regulated in accordance with the law.
The center will focus on investigations into highly volatile crypto assets, illicit trading practices, tax evasion, unauthorised transfers of foreign currencies, concealment of criminal proceeds and money laundering.
In June 2023, the South Korean parliament passed the Digital Asset User Protection Act.
The act consolidated 19 separate bills related to cryptocurrencies. It defined liability for offenses such as insider trading, market manipulation, and unfair trading practices.
From January 2024, the FCS will require firms to disclose information on the presence of digital assets on their balance sheets.