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South Korea completes 40 crypto trading probes, sends 30-plus cases to prosecutors

South Korea completes 40 crypto trading probes, sends 30-plus cases to prosecutors

Regulators and prosecutors said more than 40 unfair-trading cases were investigated under the Virtual Asset User Protection Act, while a broader year-long crackdown led to 304 suspects booked, 25 arrests and KRW 381.4 billion in preserved proceeds.

Fact Check
The primary Korean source (Korea Economic Daily/Hankyung) confirms ~40 unfair trading investigations and 30+ referrals to investigative agencies under the Virtual Asset User Protection Act's first two years, corroborated by Chosun Biz's English report and secondary outlets (Bloomingbit, Crypto Briefing). The claim's specifics on AI surveillance and consideration of account-freeze powers also match the sources. Figures are consistent across multiple independent reports.
Summary

South Korea’s financial authorities said they have completed investigations into more than 40 unfair-trading cases under the Virtual Asset User Protection Act, referred or reported more than 30 cases to investigative agencies, and identified 25 suspects since the law took effect on July 19, 2024. Separately, the Ministry of Justice said a broader year-long crackdown on financial, securities and virtual-asset crimes resulted in 304 suspects being booked and 25 arrests between June last year and May this year, with KRW 381.4 billion in criminal proceeds placed under forfeiture preservation. The ministry said the cases were handled mainly by units including the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Office’s joint investigation division for financial, securities and virtual-asset crimes, and that it had expanded specialized asset-recovery divisions in Seoul Southern and Busan to strengthen proceeds recovery. Authorities are also reviewing an account-freeze system and tipster rewards, while exchanges and regulators expand AI-based real-time surveillance.

Terms & Concepts
  • Virtual Asset User Protection Act: South Korea’s crypto investor protection law that sets custody and conduct rules for virtual asset service providers and bans unfair trading practices.
  • forfeiture preservation: A legal measure that blocks the disposal of assets so they can be confiscated or collected later as alleged crime proceeds.
  • API keys: Digital credentials that allow software or users to access and interact with an exchange or trading platform programmatically.