South Korea Proposes Amendments To Foreign Exchange Law To Combat Virtual Asset Crimes

According to Foresight News, South Korean lawmaker Choi Eun-sik has introduced a bill to amend the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act, aiming to prevent money laundering and other foreign exchange crimes involving virtual assets. The proposed amendments include establishing a monitoring system for virtual asset transactions, enhancing the regulatory framework for fintech foreign exchange services, improving the convenience of foreign exchange transactions for individuals and businesses, and advancing the intelligence of foreign exchange monitoring systems. Data from the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) indicates a 48.8% increase in suspicious transaction reports by virtual asset businesses last year compared to the previous year. In response, the Ministry of Finance plans to introduce new definitions for virtual assets and virtual asset businesses next year. The proposed changes will require virtual asset businesses to register before conducting cross-border transactions and regularly report user transaction records to the Bank of Korea. The amendments are expected to be implemented in the second half of next year.