40 Cryptocurrency Market Manipulation Cases Investigated by South Korean Authorities in Two-Year Period
On the two-year milestone of the Virtual Asset User Protection Act's implementation, FSC Chairman Lee Eog-won disclosed investigation statistics.
Over the past two years, financial regulatory bodies in South Korea have examined more than 40 instances of illicit trading practices, encompassing fraudulent cryptocurrency transactions and market manipulation schemes.
Based on a post shared on X by Lee Eog-won, the Chair of the Financial Services Commission, 30 of these cases were either reported to or forwarded to law enforcement and investigative bodies, with 25 individuals identified as suspects following the July 2024 implementation of the Virtual Asset User Protection Act.
According to Lee, the typical amount of illegal profits obtained in these cases averaged approximately 1.4 billion Korean won ($940,000).
Today marks the second anniversary of the enactment of the 'Virtual Asset User Protection Act...' It was a meaningful time that brought the virtual asset market, which was outside the institutional framework at the time, into the fold of the law and created an opportunity to establish a user protection system for virtual assets.
Lee Eog-won, Financial Services Commission Chair
The purpose of the Virtual Asset User Protection Act is to safeguard individuals who purchase and maintain cryptocurrency assets through virtual asset service providers.
Under legal obligations, VASPs must maintain separation between user deposits and virtual assets from their own company assets, with client deposits being held in banking institutions.
The law additionally focuses on combating illegal practices including insider trading, wash trading and market manipulation, while strengthening the Financial Services Commission (FSC) capabilities to oversee and audit VASPs.
We will continue to enhance market surveillance investigation and monitoring systems based on AI, and proactively respond to high-risk areas.
Lee Eog-won