At a glance
- South Korea’s Ministry of Economy and Finance (MOEF) issued a legislative notice on 7 Oct for an amended Foreign Exchange Transaction Act enforcement decree that creates a registered “virtual asset transfer business”, required to report cross-border crypto transfers to the Bank of Korea (BOK).
- Public comments run until 26 Oct, and the ministry plans for the rules to take effect on 3 Dec, when the amended law itself takes effect.
Korea’s finance ministry has proposed bringing cross-border crypto transfers inside the country’s foreign-exchange reporting system, according to Aju Press, which reported the ministry’s notice on Wednesday morning Korea time.
The new category would cover transfers between domestic virtual-asset operators and foreign entities. It would also cover transfers between domestic operators and individual wallets, meaning self-custody addresses that no exchange controls.
To register, a business would need at least two staff with foreign-exchange experience or relevant training. Registered operators would report transfer records to the BOK’s foreign-exchange network, which would share them with the National Tax Service, the Korea Customs Service, the Financial Supervisory Service and the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), the agency that receives suspicious-transaction reports.
This summary is based on Aju Press’s English-language report of the ministry’s notice. CryptoWatchDesk has not yet reviewed the Korean-language text on the MOEF site.
What else the Korea crypto transfer decree changes
The same decree would fold small overseas remittance and other specialised foreign-exchange services into a single “overseas payment and settlement business”. Currency exchange businesses would face new registration rules, including minimum capital of 10 million won (about $7,470 / €6,680 at the ECB’s 7 Oct reference rates).
Registrations could be cancelled for violations involving voice phishing, illegal trade payments or remittances that use virtual assets, Aju Press reported. The ceiling on fines in lieu of business suspension would rise to between 40% and 100%, from 20% to 70%.
Lawmakers amended the Foreign Exchange Transaction Act itself on 2 Jun. The decree fills in the detail that the law delegated to the government.
Related: Korea won stablecoin debate
Why it matters: Korea’s exchanges already file suspicious-transaction reports with the FIU. This would add a routine, transaction-level foreign-exchange record for crypto leaving or entering the country, including withdrawals to personal wallets, and share it with tax and customs authorities.
After the comment period, the ministry plans regulatory and legal reviews and vice-ministerial and cabinet meetings before the planned 3 Dec start date.
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This article is for information only and is not investment advice.