(Image: Korea Bizwire)
SEOUL, July 26 (Korea Bizwire) — An interagency investigation team was launched Wednesday to crack down on cryptocurrency-related crimes, officials said.
The joint virtual asset crime investigation unit will start operations at the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors Office, staffed by 30 investigators from seven government agencies and bodies, including the prosecution, the Financial Supervisory Service, the National Tax Service and the Korea Customs Service.
It is assigned to look into market players issuing or distributing cryptocurrency to track down abnormal trading and investigate related crimes.
It will also handle the investigative procedures of crypto-related criminal cases, from detecting to analyzing, in a fast-track manner.
The launch came as the National Assembly passed legislation aimed at protecting crypto investors, the first of its kind in South Korea last month.
Under the new law, those who unfairly trade virtual assets can be sentenced to prison terms and fined. Acts of unfair trading include the use of undisclosed information, market price manipulation and illegal transactions.
The law is set to take effect in July next year.
According to authorities, about 6.27 million South Koreans were participating in the domestic crypto market as of end-2022, with a total market value of 19 trillion won (US$14.8 billion).
But amid a legislative void, crimes related to cryptocurrency have increased, including backdoor listing, price manipulation and pyramid selling, becoming a serious social problem, authorities said.
Over the past five years, financial damage of 5.3 trillion won was reported in relation to cryptocurrency crimes, they added.
(Yonhap)
