According to data released by the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of the Korean Financial Service Commission, the number of suspicious transaction reports by virtual asset operators in 2023 increased by 49% compared with the previous year, and the proportion of the total number of suspicious transactions also increased from 1.2% to 1.7% due to the encouragement of South Korean financial regulators to actively report suspicious transactions related to virtual assets. （News1）

Based on a report received by the Virtual Asset-Related Investment Fraud Reporting Center, the Financial Supervisory Authority of South Korea issued a reminder to prevent the spread of damage, and the Financial Supervisory Authority called for vigilance against investment solicitation through unregistered (illegal) virtual asset exchanges that were not authorized by the authorities, and provided tips on how to deal with it, Golden Finance reported. Investment fraudsters linked to Crypto Assets approached investors via social media, encouraging them to join illegal exchanges that were not authorized by the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) under the Financial Services Commission, and promising to help them invest, the report said. After that, they introduced the points system and other benefits that can be obtained by joining the exchange, and after building trust by providing promised points and allowing small withdrawals, they tried to attract investment funds by claiming that they could get investment advice from investment experts and ICO opportunities for unlisted coins. Once the funds are transferred in, investors are instructed to buy and sell, which appears to have made a profit, but it is very likely that the exchange is being manipulated to deceive investors. Later, when investors request withdrawals to recover principal and profits, they will delay withdrawals by asking investors to add margin, citing taxes, margins, and security concerns.

According to South Korea, the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) under the Financial Service Commission of the Financial Authority will introduce a system to suspend the review of virtual asset service providers (VASPs). Since the review took too long after the revision of the Specified Financial Information Act (Special Law) in September 2021, the reason for the suspension of the review is planned. It is expected that the grounds for the moratorium will include the existence of foreign litigation. Currently, when reviewing the reports of virtual asset operators, the Financial Intelligence Unit conducts the examination by asking overseas regulatory authorities about facts such as criminal history. This is due to administrative inefficiencies, as there has been an excessively long review period since last year. The FIU also provides for the establishment of a virtual asset business reporting review committee. Currently, the committee operates only as an advisory body, but it is planned to further improve the reporting system for virtual asset companies by stipulating it in the Enforcement Decree of the Virtual Asset User Protection Act. This will not only enhance the screening of whistleblowers, but also simplify the review process.

According to a letter reviewed by CoinDesk, the Indian government decided to block the URLs of nine offshore exchanges after a formal request from the Indian Crypto Assets and Web3 Association advocacy body and issued a notice on Thursday to explain the reasons for compliance, and the offshore exchanges have been given two weeks to respond to the notice. The letter, dated December 16, was written by Dilip Chenoy, President of the Bharat Web3 Association (BWA) and addressed to Sanjay Malhotra, Minister of Revenue, Ministry of Finance, India. A source who spoke on condition of anonymity said the BWA letter requested a one-month grace period for offshore exchanges to register with the Financial Intelligence Unit of India (FIU), which is part of the Ministry of Finance. It is unclear whether BWA's letter is solely responsible for this action or whether the government will also take such action unilaterally.

On December 4, it was reported that the South Korean Digital Asset Exchange Joint Consultative Agency (DAXA) will cooperate with the South Korean Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) to accept reports about undeclared virtual asset operators. The targets of the report are domestic and foreign virtual asset operators who have not filed a report under Article 7 of the Specified Financial Information Act (Special Law) and have conducted unreported business with Koreans. DAXA will conduct an initial review of the whistleblower report and forward the results to the FIU. FIU will reply to DAXA with the result of its determination as to whether the undeclared crypto business is a crypto business and inform the company of the result.

PANews reported on December 4 that, according to News1, the South Korean Digital Asset Exchange Joint Consultative Agency (DAXA) will cooperate with the South Korean Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) to accept reports about undeclared virtual asset operators. The target of the report is a domestic and foreign virtual asset operator that has not submitted a report under Article 7 of the Specified Financial Information Act and conducts unreported business with Koreans. DAXA will conduct an initial review of the whistleblower report and forward the results to the FIU. FIU will reply to DAXA with the result of its determination as to whether the undeclared crypto business is a crypto business and inform the company of the result.

PayCoin (PCI) issuer Pay Protocol AG (Pay Protocol) has received preliminary certification for the new Virtual Asset Business Operator (VASP) Information Security Management System (ISMS) issued by the Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA), Golden Finance reported. This allows new VA operators to obtain "preliminary certification" after passing the ISMS preliminary certification, which meets the requirements for VA operator notification under the Specified Financial Information Act. Previously, the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of the Financial Services Commission of South Korea said that it would not accept Pay Protocol's virtual asset operator change report, requiring it to shut down the relevant services by February 5. Pay Protocol undertakes to do its best to secure real-name accounts before the deadline, failing which it will apply to the authorities for a temporary injunction. Originally a virtual asset wallet and storage company, Pay Protocol plans to expand its operations into virtual asset exchanges.

PANews reported on November 14 that according to Korean media EToday, PayCoin (PCI) issuer Pay Protocol AG (Pay Protocol) has obtained the preliminary certification of the new virtual asset business operator (VASP) information security management system (ISMS). It is reported that according to the Special Financial Information Act, which was implemented in September 2021, virtual asset operators must meet reporting requirements such as ISMS certification, and be declared and accepted by the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) before they can operate. However, in order to obtain ISMS certification, companies need at least two months of service operation performance, so there is a conflict between the two regimes. With the introduction of the pre-certification system, new VA operators who are unable to enter the market due to lack of accumulated operational performance will be able to obtain "preliminary certification" after passing the ISMS preliminary certification, and thus meet the requirements for reporting as a virtual asset operator under the Specified Financial Information Act. Previously, the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of the Financial Services Commission of South Korea said that it would not accept the report on the change of virtual asset operator of Pay Protocol, the issuer of the virtual currency payment platform Paycoin, believing that Pay Protocol did not meet the reporting requirements stipulated in the Specific Financial Information Act. The financial authorities ordered Paycoin to close the relevant services by February 5, and Paycoin's position is that it will do its best to secure real-name accounts by the deadline of February 5, and if it fails, it will decisively apply to the authorities for a temporary injunction.

PANews reported on November 14 that according to Korean media EToday, PayCoin (PCI) issuer Pay Protocol AG (Pay Protocol) has obtained the preliminary certification of the new virtual asset business operator (VASP) information security management system (ISMS). It is reported that according to the Special Financial Information Act, which was implemented in September 2021, virtual asset operators must meet reporting requirements such as ISMS certification, and be declared and accepted by the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) before they can operate. However, in order to obtain ISMS certification, companies need at least two months of service operation performance, so there is a conflict between the two regimes. With the introduction of the pre-certification system, new VA operators who are unable to enter the market due to lack of accumulated operational performance will be able to obtain "preliminary certification" after passing the ISMS preliminary certification, and thus meet the requirements for reporting as a virtual asset operator under the Specified Financial Information Act. Previously, the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of the Financial Services Commission of South Korea said that it would not accept the report on the change of virtual asset operator of Pay Protocol, the issuer of the virtual currency payment platform Paycoin, believing that Pay Protocol did not meet the reporting requirements stipulated in the Specific Financial Information Act. The financial authorities ordered Paycoin to close the relevant services by February 5, and Paycoin's position is that it will do its best to secure real-name accounts by the deadline of February 5, and if it fails, it will decisively apply to the authorities for a temporary injunction. Paycoin started as a virtual asset wallet and storage company before filing a report with the FIU to expand its operations to include "dealers" including virtual asset exchanges. The FIU had asked Pay Protocol to meet the real-name deposit and withdrawal account requirements of banks by December 30, 2022, but Pay Protocol failed to meet the requirements as scheduled.

Golden Finance reported that the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) under the Korean Financial Services Commission announced the "Results of the Survey on Virtual Asset Business Status in the First Half of 2023." The survey results show that the market value of South Korea’s virtual assets in the first half of this year increased from 19.4 trillion won at the end of last year to 28.4 trillion won, an increase of 9 trillion won (46%). The expected launch of the BTC spot ETF caused the BTC price to rebound by 81% in the first half of the year alone, driving the recovery of investment sentiment. However, the polarization between won market exchanges and token market exchanges has deepened. Of the 21 token market exchanges reported to the Financial Intelligence Unit, 10 (or half of them) did not generate any trading fees in the first half of this year. The total capital of 18 currency exchanges is negative. The Financial Services Commission said some exchanges faced difficulties in continuing to operate in the future. Virtual asset trading volume and user numbers also declined slightly. In the first half of the year, the average daily transaction volume of the domestic virtual asset market was 2.9 trillion won, a decrease of 1.3% from the end of last year. The number of individual and corporate users who have completed customer verification obligations and can conduct transactions decreased by 3% to 6.06 million. The number of new coins listed and delisted on virtual asset exchanges has increased significantly. In the first half of this year, the number of new listings on various exchanges was 169, an increase of 128% from the end of last year. The number of delisting cases also increased by 47% to 115. Among the listed virtual assets, 66% were previously listed virtual assets.

Golden Finance reported that the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) under the Korean Financial Services Commission announced the "Results of the Survey on Virtual Asset Business Status in the First Half of 2023." The survey results show that the market value of South Korea’s virtual assets increased to 28.4 trillion won in the first half of this year from 19.4 trillion won at the end of last year, an increase of 9 trillion won. The expected launch of the BTC spot ETF caused the BTC price to rebound by 81% in the first half of the year alone, driving the recovery of investment sentiment. The polarization between won market exchanges and token market exchanges has deepened. Of the 21 token market exchanges reported to the Financial Intelligence Unit, 10 (or half of them) did not generate any trading fees in the first half of this year. The total capital of 18 currency exchanges is negative. The Financial Services Commission said some exchanges faced difficulties in continuing to operate in the future.

Golden Finance reported that the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) under the South Korean Financial Services Commission (FSC) will review the qualifications of major shareholders of cryptocurrency exchanges through the recently established Task Force (TF). The purpose of this is to prevent illegal actions by major shareholders who exert significant influence on the cryptocurrency exchange business and prevent damage to users. Meanwhile, Congress is pushing for the same amendment. Yoon Chang-hyun, a member of the Political Affairs Committee of the Korean National Assembly, recently proposed a bill to amend the Special Law to introduce a screening system for major shareholders of cryptocurrency companies.

Golden Finance reported that the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) under the Korean Financial Services Commission is reducing the number of people in the virtual asset inspection department from nine to seven. FIU issued partial amendments to the "Enforcement Rules of the Financial Services Commission and its Affiliated Agencies" on the 4th of this month, reducing the number of employees in the virtual asset inspection department from 9 to 7, and will accept comments before the 8th. The revised order reduces the number of posts of executive secretaries to one grade 4, four grade 5, three grade 6 and one grade 7, while currently there is only one grade 5 and one grade 6 executive secretary for each grade. It also extended the existence of the Virtual Asset Inspection Division, established as a temporary organization, from September 16, 2023 to June 30, 2024.

Odaily Planet Daily News According to official sources, the Korean Financial Intelligence Analysis Institute (FIU) held a "meeting with relevant agencies to improve the authenticity of suspicious transaction reports (STR)", and the six financial associations participating in the meeting introduced various industries to strengthen suspicious transactions of member companies Report (STR) Capability Support Status and Improvement Plans. In addition, all parties agreed that it is necessary to strengthen the support system at various industry levels to strictly deal with the recent rapid growth of improper transactions including virtual asset crimes and price manipulation.

According to PANews news on July 18, according to Newsway, the South Korean Financial Commission plans to launch a virtual asset bureau (tentative name) in August and operate a new virtual asset management system. Currently, the Financial Commission is conducting final discussions with the Ministry of Administration and Security on the establishment of a new virtual asset bureau, and preparations will be completed within this month. If approved by the government, relevant departments will be established through procedures such as promulgating a job system revision order. Currently, the Financial Commission is promoting a plan to establish a Virtual Asset Bureau within the framework of the Virtual Asset Inspection Division under the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU).

According to a Newsway report on July 18, the Korea Service Finance Commission plans to launch a virtual asset bureau (tentative name) in August. Currently, the Financial Commission is conducting final discussions with the Ministry of Administration and Security on the establishment of a new Virtual Assets Bureau. If approved by the government, relevant departments will be established through procedures such as promulgating job system modification orders, and subsequent personnel allocation will be completed. Currently, the Financial Commission is promoting a plan to establish a Virtual Asset Bureau within the framework of the Virtual Asset Inspection Division under the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU). It is reported that the Virtual Asset Inspection Section is a temporary agency established in accordance with the Specified Financial Information Act (Special Financial Transaction Act) revised in 2021, and the operating period (until September 2023) is also coming soon.

According to news on July 18, the South Korean Financial Commission plans to launch the Virtual Asset Bureau (tentative name) in August. Currently, the Financial Commission is in final discussion with the Ministry of Administration and Security on the establishment of a new Virtual Assets Bureau. If approved by the government, relevant departments will be established through procedures such as promulgating a job system revision order. Currently, the Financial Commission is promoting a plan to establish a Virtual Asset Bureau within the framework of the Virtual Asset Inspection Division under the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU).