Financial Supervisory Service Chief: "Will Closely Examine the Impact of Virtual Assets... Must Establish Market Self-Regulation"

Kim So-young, Vice Chairman of the Financial Services Commission, "Industry Must Establish Its Own Regulatory Framework"

Lee Bok-hyun, Governor of the Financial Supervisory Service
[Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Jung-yoon] On the 13th, Lee Bok-hyun, Governor of the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), stated, "We will closely examine the impact of the spread of virtual assets on the stability of the financial system and consumer protection."

At the 'Emergency Review Meeting between the Government and the Ruling Party on Restoring Fairness in the Virtual Asset Market and Investor Protection Measures' held at the National Assembly that day, Governor Lee said, "With the rapid growth of new types of virtual assets such as the combination of financial assets and virtual assets, NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens), and DeFi, the possibility of new types of risks is also increasing."

Governor Lee also expressed the need to establish market self-regulation. He explained, "Large-scale and non-face-to-face transactions conducted on centralized (virtual asset) exchanges can cause problems such as information asymmetry and unfair trading," but added, "To overcome these and ensure responsible growth of the virtual asset market, while establishing a reasonable regulatory system is important, considering the complexity and unpredictable environment, it is necessary to emphasize the establishment of market self-regulation through active participation of private experts."

He continued, "The FSS will also do its best to enhance the efficiency of the virtual asset market and prevent investor damage through active collaboration with the private sector."

Furthermore, Governor Lee said he would strengthen international cooperation. He stated, "As seen in the recent Terra-Luna incident, virtual assets have the characteristic of 'transnationality,'" and added, "The FSS will further solidify cooperation with overseas supervisory authorities and international organizations to enhance international consistency."

At the meeting, Kim So-young, Vice Chairman of the Financial Services Commission, emphasized the industry's efforts for investor protection. Vice Chairman Kim said, "Considering the need for international consistency to establish an effective regulatory system, there is a limitation that some time is required," and added, "Therefore, to gain trust in the virtual asset market, it is time for the industry itself to establish a fair and transparent regulatory system."

She continued, "Exchanges must carefully examine what the substance of the virtual assets they intend to list is, and whether their business feasibility and economic value are clear, to identify sound virtual assets," and added, "It is also necessary to review whether exchanges have provided sufficient accurate information for investors to make rational decisions."

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