Financial Services Commission, Joint Investigation on Overseas Coin Scams... Realism is "Well..."

Financial Services Commission Collaborates with Foreign Financial Intelligence Units for Cryptocurrency Fraud Investigation
Potential Temperature Differences with Foreign Entities... Practical Issues Such as Manpower Also Arise

[Asia Economy Reporter Gong Byung-sun] As fraud crimes using cryptocurrencies listed overseas continue, the Financial Services Commission (FSC) has announced that it will support investigations through cooperation with overseas organizations, but there are criticisms that this lacks practicality.

According to financial authorities on the 22nd, the FSC announced the day before that it will support investigations into fraud crimes related to cryptocurrencies listed overseas through cooperation with foreign financial intelligence units (FIUs) equivalent to Korea's Financial Intelligence Unit. Recently, fraud crimes exploiting cryptocurrencies listed overseas have been increasing, but since cryptocurrencies listed overseas fall into regulatory blind spots, investors find it difficult to understand the issuance process or how their value was assessed. Even if victims report fraud crimes, it is not easy to catch scammers located abroad.

The problem is that cooperation with foreign FIUs makes it difficult to catch overseas cryptocurrency fraud. Unlike the heated domestic market, known for the term "Kimchi Premium," other countries have relatively less enthusiasm for cryptocurrencies, resulting in almost no related regulations. Professor Hong Ki-hoon of Hongik University’s Department of Business Administration explained, "There are very few cases where interest in cryptocurrencies has led to legislation and regulatory attempts like in Korea," adding, "Even if cooperation with foreign financial intelligence units proceeds, unless the case is directly related to major overseas countries, the FSC and victims may not receive as much cooperation as expected."

Practical issues such as manpower also make it difficult for financial authorities to eradicate overseas cryptocurrency fraud. Although the daily trading volume once approached 45 trillion won, there is a severe shortage of personnel to crack down on it. As of the end of March, the Financial Supervisory Service, which monitors the capital market, has 2,255 employees, but only a very small number can be allocated to the cryptocurrency sector. Professor Lee Byung-wook of Seoul School of Integrated Sciences and Technologies pointed out, "Considering the administrative power of the FSC, it is difficult to perfectly manage cryptocurrencies, which are vast and indistinct from overseas," and questioned, "It is also doubtful whether cryptocurrencies have enough economic value to justify the enormous administrative effort required."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.