{"id":125554,"date":"2025-03-21T14:15:28","date_gmt":"2025-03-21T14:15:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cryptospotters.net\/?p=125554"},"modified":"2025-03-21T14:15:28","modified_gmt":"2025-03-21T14:15:28","slug":"south-korea-to-block-non-compliant-crypto-exchanges","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/cryptospotters.net\/?p=125554","title":{"rendered":"South Korea to block non-compliant crypto exchanges"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Source: Cointelegraph.com NewsSouth Korean authorities are reportedly looking into blocking crypto exchange platforms that may have operated without adhering to the requirements set by the country\u2019s financial regulator.\u00a0<br \/>\nOn March 21, local media Hankyung reported that the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of the Financial Services Commission is considering sanctions against crypto exchanges for allegedly operating in the country without reporting as an operator to the appropriate regulators.\u00a0<br \/>\nSouth Korean financial authorities require crypto exchanges to report to regulators as virtual asset service providers (VASPs) under the country\u2019s Specified Financial Information Act.\u00a0<br \/>\nThe FIU is investigating a list of exchanges and is conducting consultations with related agencies. The regulator is also considering sanctions, such as blocking access to the exchanges, as they begin to prepare countermeasures.\u00a0<br \/>\nSouth Korean regulators eye crypto exchanges<br \/>\nThe regulator will reportedly crackdown on exchanges allegedly providing services to South Koreans without the appropriate VASP reports. The exchanges in the FIU\u2019s list reportedly provided marketing and customer support to Korean investors without going through the country\u2019s compliance process.\u00a0<br \/>\nLocal media Hankyung mentioned that the crypto exchange KuCoin was on the list along with other crypto platforms. In a statement, a KuCoin representative told Cointelegraph:<br \/>\n\u201cWe are closely monitoring regulatory developments across all jurisdictions, including Korea. At KuCoin, we believe that compliance is essential for the healthy and sustainable growth of the crypto industry\u2014this has always been our stance and will continue to guide us as we move forward. We remain committed to supporting the industry\u2019s long-term development through proactive and responsible practices.\u201d<br \/>\nUnder the country\u2019s laws, operators of crypto sales, storage, brokerage and management are required to report to the FIU. If exchanges don\u2019t comply, their business will be considered illegal and subject to criminal penalties and administrative sanctions.\u00a0<br \/>\nAn FIU official said in the report that measures to block access to the exchanges included in the list are being reviewed. The official said the financial regulator is currently consulting with the Korea Communications Standards Commission, the regulator in charge of the internet, on how they can block access to the exchanges.\u00a0<br \/>\nRelated: Wemix denies cover-up amid delayed $6.2M bridge hack announcement<br \/>\nSouth Korean exchanges face scrutiny\u00a0<br \/>\nApart from foreign exchanges, South Korean crypto exchanges are also facing scrutiny over suspicions and rumors of financial misconduct.\u00a0<br \/>\nOn March 20, prosecutors raided Bithumb following suspicions that its former CEO, Kim Dae-sik, embezzled company funds to purchase an apartment. The authorities suspect that the exchange and its executive may have violated some financial laws during the apartment purchase. However, Bithumb responded that Kim had already taken a loan to repay the funds.\u00a0<br \/>\nIn addition, rumors of intermediaries getting paid to list projects on Bithumb and Upbit surfaced. Citing anonymous sources, Wu Blockchain said projects claimed to have paid intermediaries millions to get listed on the exchanges.\u00a0<br \/>\nUpbit responded, demanding the media outlet to disclose the list of digital asset projects that paid brokerage fees.\u00a0<br \/>\nMagazine: Crypto fans are obsessed with longevity and biohacking: Here\u2019s why<a href=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/news\/south-korea-fiu-targets-unregistered-crypto-exchanges?utm_source=rss_feed&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=rss_partner_inbound\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"feedzy-rss-link-icon\" rel=\"noopener\">Read More<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Source: Cointelegraph.com NewsSouth Korean authorities are reportedly looking into blocking crypto exchange platforms that may have operated without adhering to the requirements set by the country\u2019s financial regulator.\u00a0 On March&hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/cryptospotters.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/125554"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/cryptospotters.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/cryptospotters.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/cryptospotters.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=125554"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/cryptospotters.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/125554\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/cryptospotters.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=125554"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/cryptospotters.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=125554"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/cryptospotters.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=125554"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}