Since March 25, 2021, the Financial Services Commission (FSC) of the Republic of Korea (South Korea) has revised its regulations for virtual asset service providers (VASPs). The new rule requires VASPs to perform all relevant AML duties.
VASPs are trading, safekeeping, administration and digital wallet service providers for virtual assets. They purchase, sell, exchange, guard, broker and transfer virtual assets and transactions that use them. With South Korea’s new rule, new VASPs must now register their business with the Korea Financial Intelligence Unit (KoFIU) before starting operation. Existing businesses that the FSC categorizes as VASPs must register with the KoFIU by September 24, 2021 in order to avoid severe penalties.
All registered VASPs must now follow the FSC’s AML requirements. They must verify customer identity before accepting a client and file timely suspicious transaction reports. The authorities will audit AML compliance for all VASPs since the time they registered their businesses. The FSC has also advised all consumers to check the status of business registration of any VASPs they may engage in business with. It has further advised consumers to be wary of VASPs seeking their resident registration numbers.