South Koreas Financial Services Commission Approves Establishment of Virtual Asset Department with 12 Fulltime Staff Members

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Financial Services Commission’s Organizational Restructuring Plan Approved by State Council
Digital Financial Policy Officer Established, Dedicated Department for Virtual Assets Established
Establishment of Virtual Asset Division to Strengthen User Protection
Dedicated Department for Preventing Money Laundering of Virtual Assets to Continue Until the End of 2025
Enhancement of Human Resources to Address Fair Trading in Capital Markets
Future Schedule and Other Restructuring Contents
Financial Services Commission’s Organizational Restructuring Plan Approved by State Council
The Financial Services Commission of South Korea has approved the organizational restructuring plan during a State Council meeting. This restructuring includes the establishment of the Digital Financial Policy Officer and relevant departments for virtual assets, aiming to actively respond to changes in the financial environment.
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In order to cope with the upcoming “Virtual Asset User Protection Act,” which will be implemented on July 19, 2024, a new Virtual Asset Division has been established under the Digital Financial Policy Officer. The Virtual Asset Division will be temporarily operated and will be responsible for the management and supervision of establishing order in the virtual asset market and protecting users. At the same time, the Virtual Asset Division plans to actively address unfair transactions of virtual assets, imposing fines, criminal prosecutions, and other sanctions.
The temporary Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) operating plan officer and the continuation period of the Virtual Asset Inspection Division have been extended until the end of 2025. This is to continue fulfilling the obligations of virtual asset businesses to prevent money laundering in accordance with the standards of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and the Specific Financial Information Act. In addition, regulatory, inspection, and sanction work for virtual asset businesses will continue to be promoted.
In order to enhance the response to unfair trading in capital markets, three investigators have been added. This is because the forms and methods of unfair trading in capital markets have become more cunning recently, and there has been a significant increase in capital market investors, leading to an expansion of unfair trading incidents and damages. The newly added investigators will actively carry out new tasks such as imposing fines, estimating illegal gains, and voluntary declaration reductions.
The Financial Services Commission’s organizational restructuring plan, which was approved in the South Korean State Council, will be announced and implemented on June 25. In addition, the Conference Operation Information Division Chief and Accounting System Division Chief have been newly established using the total manpower funding system. The Conference Operation Information Division Chief will support the smooth operation of the Financial Services Commission and oversee the informationization of interdepartmental cooperation. The Accounting System Division Chief will be responsible for policy work related to corporate accounting.
Virtual Assets
South Korea