South Korea's crypto industry opposes new AML regulations: Cross-border transfer reporting thresholds may trigger compliance pressures.

The South Korean cryptocurrency industry has expressed strong concerns about proposed revisions to anti-money laundering (AML) regulations, arguing that the rules could impose an excessive compliance burden on virtual asset service providers (VASPs). According to Yonhap News Agency, the Digital Asset eXchange Alliance (DAXA), representing 27 VASPs including Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit, and Gopax, submitted its opinion opposing the uniform classification of all transactions involving overseas virtual asset transfers exceeding 10 million won (approximately US$6,800) as suspicious transactions. DAXA warned that the rule could cause the number of suspicious transaction reports from South Korea's five largest exchanges to surge from approximately 63,000 last year to over 5.4 million, an increase of about 85 times, severely impacting the efficiency of actual compliance enforcement. Furthermore, the industry also opposes the new obligation requiring exchanges to verify the accuracy of customer information, arguing that it exceeds the scope of current legal authorization. South Korea's Financial Services Commission (FSC) and Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) submitted a draft amendment on March 30, which has entered the public comment phase, with final review expected in July. Meanwhile, legal disputes between South Korean exchanges and regulators regarding AML penalties continue, with several platforms challenging previous business restrictions and fines in court, reflecting the escalating tension between tightening regulations and the industry's ability to enforce them. (Cointelegraph)