South Korea's Proposed Law Gives FIU Direct Enforcement Powers: Cracking Down on Undeclared Crypto Exchanges

Comparatively, according to Digital Asset, 10 people including South Korea's National Power Party member Yim Tae-young proposed an amendment to the “Specific Financial Information Law” on August 20 to give the Financial Intelligence Service (FIU) direct enforcement powers against undeclared virtual asset service providers.

According to the amendments, anyone can report an offense to the FIU. When the FIU receives a report or discovers suspected violations, the FIU can conduct an investigation and analysis, and refer or report the case to the investigating authorities. The proposal points out that although the current law imposes reporting and anti-money laundering obligations on virtual asset service providers, there are no direct enforcement measures against undeclared operators, and there are hidden criminal risks such as money laundering and illegal cross-border transfers, which are difficult to respond quickly with inter-agency coordination alone.