South Korea to Enhance Cryptocurrency Anti-Money Laundering Regulation, Covering Small Transactions of Less Than 1 Million KRW

BlockBeats News, November 28th, according to Yonhap News Agency, South Korea's Financial Services Commission Chairman Eun Sung-soo stated at the "19th Anti-Money Laundering Day" event that South Korea will further strengthen cryptocurrency anti-money laundering regulation. The scope of the "Travel Rule," also known as the "Cryptocurrency Real-Name System," will be expanded to cover small transactions below 1 million Korean won (about $680) to address existing regulatory blind spots. When domestic virtual asset exchanges in Korea receive cryptocurrency deposits/withdrawals exceeding 1 million Korean won, they must collect information such as the sender's and receiver's names and wallet addresses. This is aimed at preventing money laundering activities that may circumvent this requirement in the future.

Chairman Eun emphasized that regulatory authorities will crackdown on money laundering activities using virtual assets and prohibit virtual asset transactions with overseas exchanges deemed to have a high risk of money laundering. South Korea will also establish a more rigorous review system to comprehensively examine the criminal records, financial status, and social credit of virtual asset business operators and their major shareholders to strengthen industry entry barriers.