South Korean Crypto Exchanges Face New Hurdle as Legal Deadline Looms

With just over a month left before South Korean financial regulators begin policing the activities of the nation’s crypto exchanges, a regulatory body has unveiled details of how it will request trading platforms to report suspicious transactions as part of what promises to become one of the most highly scrutinized industries in the country.

Per reports from the Electronic Times and Yonhap News, the latest batch of regulatory requirements comes from the Financial Services Commission’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), the body that deals with Anti-Money Laundering/Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT)-related matters in South Korea.

The FIU said that it will require exchanges to flag and inform it of any unusual-looking transactions on their platforms within three working days. It also specified that all reports will need to specify transactions’ values in fiat (KRW). And the regulator confirmed that all privacy coins are to be delisted from exchanges, a measure it first announced back in November last year.

The FIU will have the final say on how exchanges are policed, and has issued a manual for companies who wish to continue trading after the country’s first crypto-specific law promulgates next month. In order to trade, platforms will need to obtain a license.

To do so, they will need to provide the FIU with proof that they have obtained information protection management system certification, have real-name authenticated banking contracts in place with domestic banks and prove they have qualified staff in key decision-making and security-related roles.

Exchanges will have until September 24 to submit the necessary documents to the FIU, which will then have the power to forcibly close, audit or conduct spot-checks on non-compliant platform operators.
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Learn more:
– Bank Account Data May Indicate a Rise in South Korean Crypto Activity
– Crypto Exchanges to Spend 2021 Focusing on DeFi, UX, and New Services
– Decentralized Exchanges Set To Accelerate in 2021
– ‘Over-Regulation’ May Scupper South Korea’s Fledgling Crypto Sector
– Bithumb Boss: Only 4-7 Korean Crypto Exchanges Will Survive Regulations
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