South Korea Probes Over 40 Crypto Manipulation Cases Since Virtual Asset Law Enacted

South Korea's financial authorities have investigated over 40 cases of unfair trading in the crypto market since the Virtual Asset User Protection Act took effect in July 2024. The investigations, led by the Financial Services Commission (FSC), targeted market manipulation, fraudulent trading, and other illicit activities.

The FSC Chair Lee Eog-won reported that 30 cases were referred to investigative agencies, resulting in 25 suspects being identified. The average unlawful gains from these cases were around 1.4 billion Korean won ($940,000).

The Virtual Asset User Protection Act aims to protect users who buy and store crypto assets with virtual asset service providers (VASPs). VASPs are required to separate user deposits and virtual assets from their own corporate holdings, holding client deposits in banks.