South Korea's Financial Supervisory Agency Is Establishing a Cryptocurrency Bureau

South Korea's main financial regulator, the Financial Service Commission (FSC), said on Thursday that it is establishing an autonomous crypto-focused bureau to oversee digital assets in the nation.

• The new bureau will begin operations in September and will be overseen by the Korea Financial Intelligence Unit (KFIU), a division of the Financial Supervisory Commission that is responsible for anti-money laundering enforcement.

• According to the Korea Times, the new agency would be named the Crypto Asset Monitoring Bureau and will be in charge of monitoring licensing for exchanges and other operators.

• Exchanges that do not register with KFIU and obtain a license by late September will not be allowed to operate in South Korea, according to FSC authorities. The FSC requires exchanges to strengthen their know-your-customer (KYC) requirements and gather personal information about clients as part of their licensing.

• According to the Korea Times, the agency would also be in charge of investigating suspicious activities such as fraud and money laundering.

• South Korea's crypto crackdown is linked to a rise in young people's debt, which FSC Chief Koh Seung-beom has blamed, in part, on digital asset speculation.