South Korea Cracks Down on 40 Crypto Manipulation Cases Since the 2024 Law

South Korea’s financial authorities have investigated 40 crypto market manipulation cases since the country’s user-protection law took effect in 2024, referring more than 30 to investigative agencies.

The Financial Services Commission’s Chairman shared the figures to mark the law’s second anniversary. The cases exposed 25 suspects across two years of enforcement.

Korea’s Virtual Asset User Protection Act Marks 2 Years of Enforcement

South Korea passed the Virtual Asset User Protection Act on July 19, 2024. The measure gave regulators dedicated tools to punish abuse in the crypto market.

The Financial Services Commission then built a specialized investigation unit. It later added digital forensics and refined the operation of the penalty surcharge system.

That buildout produced roughly 40 completed investigations. Regulators also referred more than 30 confirmed cases to investigative agencies for prosecution.

“Financial authorities plan to keep strengthening efforts to stamp out unfair trading in the virtual asset market, including using AI to improve the efficiency of market surveillance and investigations,” the notice read.

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Average illicit gains reached about 1.4 billion won per case. Meanwhile, eight cases ranged from 500 million to 5 billion won, and one exceeded 5 billion won.

Regulators also imposed penalties of 125% to 165% of illicit gains in two cases. The authorities framed the results as a base for rebuilding market trust.

However, regulators signaled the work is far from finished. They plan to introduce account and bank-account payment suspension powers to block hidden proceeds.

A reporting and reward system for unfair trading is also under review for the second-phase legislation. Authorities intend to expand AI-based market surveillance alongside these measures.

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