South Korea plans to extend its Travel Rule to include cryptocurrency transactions under 1 million won to tighten anti-money laundering oversight and increase the obligation to track transfer information.
On December 29, the Korean Financial Intelligence Unit (KoFIU) held its first meeting on revising the Financial Specifics Tax (TF) to strengthen the anti-money laundering framework. The plan also includes promoting the institutionalization of stablecoins and account freezing mechanisms, aiming to propose an improved AML system in the first half of 2026.
- Expand the Travel Rule from a threshold of ≥ 1 million won to below 1 million won.
- Increased monitoring of electronic money transfers is necessary to combat money laundering.
- Promoting stablecoin frameworks and account freezing mechanisms; proposing new AML in the first half of 2026.
Travel Rule: Lowering the threshold to below 1 million won.
KoFIU plans to apply the Travel Rule to electronic money transfer transactions under 1 million won, instead of only applying it to transfers of 1 million won or more.
Currently, the Travel Rule applies to transfers of virtual assets valued at 1 million won or more. Expanding it to smaller transaction groups is designed to increase the coverage of anti-money laundering monitoring, especially for low-value but high-frequency transfers.
This move will strengthen the obligation to track electronic money transfers, requiring stakeholders to exercise tighter control and trace transaction data than the current threshold-based mechanism.
Stablecoins and account freezing mechanisms: expanding management tools.
Financial authorities will promote the institutionalization of stablecoins and XEM incorporating an account freezing mechanism into the system, while also preparing to propose an improved AML system in the first half of 2026.
The December 29th meeting of the KoFIU was the first session on amending the Specific Financial Information TF. Alongside expanding the Travel Rule, authorities plan to increase intervention tools at the account level through freezing mechanisms, to support the handling of money laundering risks as transactions unfold.
Regarding the roadmap, the plan clearly states the goal of submitting a proposal for an improved anti-money laundering system in the first half of 2026, reflecting an approach that both expands the scope of monitoring small transactions and adds a regulatory framework for stablecoins.
