Economy - The Korea Times

Korbit fined $1.9 mil. over anti-money laundering lapses

Cryptocurrency exchange Korbit has been slapped with an institutional warning and a 2.73 billion won ($1.9 million) fine for breaching anti-money laundering rules, the Financial Services Commission (FSC) said Wednesday. The penalties were decided by the sanctions review committee of the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), which operates under the country’s top financial regulator. Disciplinary actions were also taken against senior executives, with the company’s CEO receiving a “caution” and the reporting officer facing a “reprimand.” The FIU’s comprehensive on-site inspection uncovered multiple violations of the Act on Reporting and Using Specified Financial Transaction Information, including breaches of customer due diligence requirements, failures to restrict transactions and violations of the ban on dealings with unreported virtual asset service providers. Authorities identified around 22,000 cases involving improper customer identification and transaction controls. Under the law, virtual asset operators are required to block transactions for customers whose verification

Dec 31, 2025By Jun Ji-hye

Korbit fined $1.9 mil. over anti-money laundering lapses

Why 2026 could mark crypto's next expansion phase in Korea

Cryptocurrency entered 2025 with a euphoric rally. Clearer regulatory signals from major economies and a more accommodative policy backdrop helped propel Bitcoin to a record $126,000. Institutional capital flowed steadily into the market, with some companies adding digital assets to their balance sheets under strategic allocations. Sentiment reversed sharply toward year-end. Concerns over U.S. trade policy sparked capital outflows, while expected Federal Reserve rate cuts were slower to materialize than markets had anticipated. The selloff intensified after October, when a renewed U.S. tariff pledge on China triggered about $19 billion in forced liquidations. "Sixteen years after the genesis block, crypto's secular growth continues, sometimes painfully and occasionally awkwardly — but growing all the same," Presto Research wrote in its Dec. 18 report. "Welcome to crypto's teenage phase." 2025 proved to be a mixed year, but market watchers largely agree on one point: the industry is moving steadily toward a more polished, mainstream future. "When I look back on 2025, what stands out is

Dec 25, 2025By Lee Yeon-woo

Why 2026 could mark crypto's next expansion phase in Korea

Crypto mogul Do Kwon sentenced to 15 years in prison for $40 bil. stablecoin fraud

NEW YORK — Onetime cryptocurrency mogul Do Kwon was sentenced Thursday to 15 years in prison after a $40 billion crash revealed his crypto ecosystem to be a fraud. Victims said the 34-year-old financial technology whiz weaponized their trust to convince them that the investment — secretly propped up by cash infusions — was safe. Kwon, a Stanford graduate known by some as “the cryptocurrency king,” apologized after listening as victims — one in court and others by telephone — described the scam’s toll: wiping out nest eggs, depleting charities and wrecking lives. One told the judge in a letter that he contemplated suicide after his father lost his retirement money in the scheme. Engelmayer said at a daylong sentencing hearing in Manhattan federal court that the government’s recommendation of 12 years in prison was “unreasonably lenient” and that the defense’s request for five years was “utterly unthinkable and wildly unreasonable.” Kwon faced a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison. “Your offense caused real people to lose $40 billion in real money, not som

Dec 12, 2025By AP

Crypto mogul Do Kwon sentenced to 15 years in prison for $40 bil. stablecoin fraud

Corporate crypto trading opens door to digital asset donations

Korea's easing of restrictions on corporate crypto trading is fueling a rise in digital asset donations, with non-profits and universities moving to integrate blockchain into their fundraising infrastructure, industry officials said Monday. The Community Chest of Korea received its first major cryptocurrency donations this year with five Bitcoins (BTC) from a corporate donor and one from an individual. To further promote digital philanthropy, the organization began issuing non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on Dec. 1 in partnership with Dunamu, operator of cryptocurrency exchange Upbit. About 2,000 NFTs are being offered at 5 Tether (USDT) each, or roughly $5. Since October, Yonsei University alums have also been able to donate membership fees using BTC, USDT and USD Coin (USDC). The university's alum association said the initiative was partly driven by concerns over remittance fees and international transfer delays. So far, about five alums have made payments using cryptocurrencies. Individuals are joining the trend. On Nov. 11, Kim Keo-seok, a private investor in his 70s, donated 1 BTC to Seou

Dec 9, 2025By Lee Yeon-woo

Corporate crypto trading opens door to digital asset donations

Repeat cyberthefts raise questions about Upbit's security governance

Investor confidence has been shaken after Upbit, Korea's largest cryptocurrency exchange, suffered a cybertheft that drained about 44.5 billion won ($30.3 million) in assets despite years of security outsourcing and consulting, industry officials said Monday. According to Rep. Kang Min-kuk of the main opposition People Power Party, Upbit operator Dunamu carried out 33 security consulting projects between 2019 and November this year, spending approximately 17 billion won. The services included vulnerability assessments, penetration testing and phishing simulations. The company also signed 11 IT security contracts worth an additional 2.8 billion won. Yet, this significant investment volume failed to prevent a Nov. 27 cyberattack that siphoned Solana-based coins at a peak rate of 32.1 million units per second. It was the second major breach targeting Upbit. In 2019, the North Korea-linked Lazarus Group allegedly stole 58 billion won in Ethereum from the platform. Both attacks compromised the exchange’s hot wallet — a type of digital wallet connected to the internet. "This made me realiz

Dec 8, 2025By Lee Yeon-woo

Repeat cyberthefts raise questions about Upbit's security governance

Korea's stablecoin debate lays bare structural contradictions

Korea's push to regulate won-denominated stablecoins is exposing conflicts and gaps in existing laws, industry officials said Thursday, calling for industry-wide discussions that go beyond stablecoins. The government and the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) are weighing a proposal that would allow only consortia with at least 51 percent bank ownership to issue won-based stablecoins. The aim is to ensure stability by keeping control in the hands of trusted financial institutions. But the plan runs into immediate legal hurdles. Under the Banking Act, banks are prohibited from owning more than 15 percent of nonfinancial companies — a long-standing rule designed to maintain the separation of finance and industry. Therefore, if stablecoin issuers are classified as general corporations, including fintech firms, at least four banks would be required to form a consortium to meet the 51 percent threshold, complicating the decision-making environment. "While cross-border payment is a potential use case, traditional banks' caution around anti-money laundering could keep these flows cumberso

Dec 5, 2025By Lee Yeon-woo

Korea's stablecoin debate lays bare structural contradictions

Upbit loses near $30.1 mil. in massive hacking attack

Korea's largest crypto exchange Upbit suffered a massive hacking attack Thursday, resulting in the loss of over 44 billion won ($30.1 million) in assets, the exchange operator said. In a notice to customers, Dunamu said it confirmed the transfer of 44.5 billion won worth of Solana-affiliated assets to an unauthorized wallet address at 4:42 a.m. and plans to cover the full amount with assets the company owns. Earlier in the day, the company said the total damage amounted to 54 billion won, but later revised the amount based on the price of the affected assets at the time of the incident. "The attack occurred on the 'hot wallet' operated by Upbit and no security breaches or extortion of assets happened with our cold wallets," the exchange operator said. Hot wallets store virtual assets online, while cold wallets store assets offline. As a follow-up measure, Dunamu said it has temporarily suspended virtual asset deposit and withdrawal services and is conducting a comprehensive security review. It also initiated an on-chain freezing measure, successfully freezing around 2.3 billion won worth o

Nov 27, 2025By Yonhap

Upbit loses near $30.1 mil. in massive hacking attack

How blockchain could let fans own piece of favorite K-pop songs

Intellectual property (IP) has become one of the most powerful economic engines of the digital age — especially in entertainment, where content can fuel entire industries. Korea's global success in exporting K-pop, webtoons and dramas offers a vivid example. Yet despite an estimated $60 trillion in value, the global IP market remains largely illiquid and opaque. Most transactions occur behind closed doors, brokered through private contracts or corporate licensing deals. This lack of transparency has left the market underleveraged, industry officials say. A report from the Korea Institute of Intellectual Property found that securitizing and making domestic music copyrights tradable could create a market worth up to 22 trillion won ($14.9 billion). That’s nearly 10 times the value of Korea's music industry exports in 2024, which totaled around 2 trillion won. One blockchain startup is betting it can change that. Aria Protocol, established this January, is building a tokenized IP platform that allows such rights to be fractionalized, traded and monetized on blockchain. The company's found

Nov 25, 2025By Lee Yeon-woo

How blockchain could let fans own piece of favorite K-pop songs

PHOTO Bitcoin falls below $90,000 for 1st time in 7 months

The price of Bitcoin is displayed on an electronic board at Bithumb in Seoul, Tuesday, as the cryptocurrency dropped below $90,000 for the first time in seven months. It briefly tumbled more than 5 percent to $89,201 at around 1:45 p.m., according to Coinbase, before trimming losses and stabilizing closer to $90,000. The decline tracks a broader pullback in risk assets, driven by hawkish signals from U.S. Federal Reserve officials and mounting concerns over a potential artificial intelligence bubble. Bitcoin last fell below this level in April when it plunged to $74,400 amid uncertainty over the U.S. tariff policy. Yonhap

Nov 18, 2025By Lee Yeon-woo

[PHOTO] Bitcoin falls below $90,000 for 1st time in 7 months

After 3 delays, Korea still unprepared for 2027 crypto tax rollout

Korea plans to begin taxing virtual assets in January 2027, but the government has yet to establish the infrastructure or release detailed guidelines, industry officials said Tuesday. That leaves the country lagging behind regional peers, which are rapidly integrating digital assets into mainstream regulatory frameworks. Japan offers the most recent example. Its Financial Services Agency is pushing to classify 105 cryptocurrencies traded on domestic exchanges as financial products, Asahi Shimbun reported on Monday. Profits from these assets are expected to be taxed at roughly 20 percent — the same rate applied to stocks and investment funds. Korea has adopted a similar framework, planning to tax virtual asset gains as other income at a 22 percent separate rate for individuals earning over 2.5 million won ($1,705) annually from trading. Although the law passed in 2020, implementation has been delayed three times — most recently from 2025 to 2027 — due to investor opposition and technical hurdles. "Postponing taxation three times is an unprecedented move rarely seen among major global