On the 25th, the’Amendment to the Act on the Reporting and Use of Specific Financial Transaction Information, etc.’, which is the first gateway to the entry of the cryptocurrency in the’lawless zone’ into the institutional zone, came into force on the 25th. With the establishment of a strict system, it is expected that the’covering of the boulders’ among related businesses will be in full swing.
The revised bill of the Special Money Act regulates business operators (virtual asset business operators, VASP) who buy, sell, exchange, store, and broker cryptocurrency. Blocking illegal cryptocurrency transactions in advance is the main purpose of the amendment to the Special Act. Businesses that support cryptocurrency transactions such as’Bitsum’ and’Upbit’ are the main targets.
Virtual asset business owners must meet certain requirements in order to operate their business and then submit a report to the Financial Information Analysis Agency (FIU). Related businesses are obligated to prevent money laundering similar to those of financial institutions, such as customer verification and suspicious transaction reporting, and for this reason, they cannot handle’dark coins’ (such as Monero), which have a high risk of money laundering.
In accordance with the enforcement of the revised bill of the Special Fund Act, virtual asset business operators have ΔInformation Protection Management System (ISMS) certification ΔReal-name verification deposit and withdrawal account opening (except for businesses that do not exchange cryptocurrency and money) ΔRepresentatives and executives must meet qualification requirements You have to meet the requirements.
Businesses who meet the requirements must submit a report to the Financial Information Analysis Institute by September 24th, and in case of unreported business, they will be punished by imprisonment for up to 5 years or a fine of up to 50 million won. The Financial Information Analysis Institute will receive reports from virtual asset business operators from 9 am on the same day, and will notify whether or not the report is accepted within 3 months after receiving the report.
If so, what should investors prepare for the implementation of the amendment to the Special Act? The amendment to the Special Act is a law that regulates cryptocurrency-related’business owners’ rather than’investors’, and it seems that individuals are not affected much right away.
However, caution is required as there may be businesses that are shutting down the so-called’meoktu’ business. Even if a virtual asset business operator currently operating a trading site does not meet certain requirements set forth by the financial authorities, there is a possibility of closing the business in the future. The amendment to the Special Act does not protect the assets that investors have deposited in related businesses.
Therefore, investors are advised to check the progress of reporting by virtual asset providers for safe investment. The Financial Information Analysis Institute urged, “In particular, it should be noted that a virtual asset business operator who has not yet received a report must be careful when collecting resident registration numbers.” Virtual asset providers are subject to imprisonment for not more than 5 years or a fine of 50 million won or less in accordance with the Personal Information Protection Act if they use or provide user personal information for other purposes.
