S Korean Exchanges: New Regulations Will Alleviate Uncertainty

The Korea Blockchain Association (KBA), South Korea’s biggest association of exchange platforms, has welcomed news that the regulatory Financial Services Commission (FSC) will issue revised anti-money laundering guidelines.

The KBA said, per media outlet Asia Economy, “The FSC’s decision will alleviate uncertainty on the market, and will allow exchanges to establish a stable management system.”

The FSC’s new policies will require banks in the country to monitor exchanges’ individual and corporate accounts for signs of suspicious activity. Previous guidelines had only been applicable to individual accounts – despite the fact that many South Korean exchanges use corporate accounts to process customers’ funds.

The FSC discovered that corporate account usage for exchange customer transactions was still unacceptably high during its recent audits at three of the country’s leading banks – a factor that the regulator judged was potentially enabling money-laundering efforts.

Chin Dae-je, the KBA’s head and former South Korean technology minister, said, “We are concentrating our efforts on preventing money laundering in the international cryptocurrency exchange market.” However, Chin also warned about the danger of possible “over-regulation” in what is still a developing industry.

The body has not yet announced whether it will push ahead with proposed self-regulatory measures – which include anti-money laundering clauses – as previously planned.