South Korea’s top financial regulator has urged lawmakers to pass the country’s first crypto bill quickly, citing the urgent need from rising incidents at crypto exchanges. There are currently several crypto-related laws pending at the National Assembly.
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Crypto Law Urgently Needed
South Korea’s top financial regulator, the Financial Services Commission (FSC), has urged lawmakers to “pass the country’s first cryptocurrency bill quickly,” Bloomberg reported this week. According to the agency, “Korea urgently needs crypto laws as thefts rise,” the publication conveyed, adding that “local exchanges are rife with security flaws and money laundering risks.”
Hong Seong-ki, head of the FSC virtual currency response team, said in an interview:
We’re trying to legislate the most urgent and important things first, aiming for money laundering prevention and investor protection. The bill should be passed as soon as possible.
The South Korean government first announced crypto regulation in the second half of last year. In September, initial coin offerings (ICOs) were banned. A crypto task force was established at that time “to improve the transparency of transactions and improve the legal system to protect consumers,” Joongang Daily described.
Since then, the FSC and other regulators have announced additional crypto regulatory measures including the real-name system and trading restrictions on minors and foreigners. However, “the problem is that these announcements have shaken the market but do not provide a proper legal framework for investor protection or market development,” the news outlet pointed out.
According to the publication, there are currently five crypto-related laws pending at the National Assembly.
Inadequate Security Measures
Hong was further quoted by Bloomberg claiming:
While crypto
