The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of South Korea is reportedly preparing to impose a series of institutional and individual sanctions on major digital asset exchanges such as Korbit, Gopax, Bithumb , and Coinone, following the completion of the fine imposed on Dunamu, the operator of Upbit. Industry sources said that the level of violations among the exchanges is quite similar, so the scale of the penalty is expected to be close to the fine Dunamu just received. Most of the related decisions are expected to be completed in the first half of next year.
Not long ago, the FIU decided to fine Dunamu 35.2 billion won, equivalent to about 24.35 million USD, for multiple violations related to compliance procedures, monitoring systems and suspicious transaction reporting obligations. This is a record high fine in the crypto asset industry in Korea, setting a new standard for transparency requirements and risk control for exchanges.
This development comes as South Korea tightens its crypto industry management policy the most since 2021. Many experts believe that FIU is looking to create a unified compliance level before the country enters a new cycle of legal amendments, especially as crypto Capital flows continue to increase amid the recovery of the international market.
