South Korea Refers About 40 Unregistered Crypto Platforms to Law Enforcement

Under South Korea’s Act on Reporting and Using Specified Financial Transaction Information, domestic and foreign virtual-asset businesses serving the country must obtain Information Security Management System certification and register with the Korea Financial Intelligence Unit. Unlicensed platforms lack regulatory and cybersecurity reviews, potentially increasing the risks of personal-data breaches, misappropriation of funds and money laundering. The enforcement action is therefore significant for investor protection and market integrity.

By the time the case came to light, the Korea Financial Intelligence Unit had referred about 40 virtual-asset service providers that allegedly failed to register as required to law-enforcement authorities for further investigation into their operations in the South Korean market. No transaction amounts, complete list of operators or exact referral date were disclosed. The shift from regulatory warnings to referrals for investigation indicates that South Korea is accelerating substantive enforcement of its crypto-market rules.