South Korea makes crypto crackdown a national priority The Register

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South Korea’s Justice Ministry will create a “virtual currency tracking system” to combat cryptocurrency-facilitated money laundering, and has listed the creation of the facility among its priorities for the year.

Last week, the department announced its plans for 2023 with action against violent crime, sexual predators and gang violence topping the list. Next comes immigration reform.

Thirdly, a series of measures aimed at combating various illegal actions such as the fight against organized crime, the repatriation of accused criminals who flee before facing local courts, the improvement of criminal justice systems and the aforementioned crypto-tracker.

South Korea has already taken steps to ensure that crypto trading facilities available on its shores acquire licenses and then cracked down on operators who fail to meet its regulatory requirements. Those who registered were asked last year to report transactions so the government could detect money laundering.

The nation is also home to Do Kwon, whose Terraform Labs imploded last year. This collapse set off the snowball for what became known as “crypto winter” as token values ​​plunged and investor enthusiasm largely froze.

South Korea is of course neighbor to North Korea, which is known to use cryptocurrency to finance its weapons programs.

US Laments Crypto Insecurity The Biden administration last week revealed a roadmap for mitigating cryptocurrency risk in recognition of the sector’s volatility that has hurt investors.

The roadmap called on crypto companies to adhere to the same regulations as other financial services players and educate consumers about the risks of their products.

The document also notes “poor industry-wide cybersecurity that has allowed the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to steal over $1 billion to fund its aggressive missile program.”

The administration has ordered its various agencies to step up enforcement and issue additional guidance to ensure compliance.

Another objective of the roadmap is to fight against money laundering.

Few details were provided on the virtual currency tracking system beyond hopes that it will start operating in 2023. It was also not explained whether the system will be linked to another of the ministry’s priorities for 2023: Improved forensic capabilities to detect and disrupt cybercrime.

The technicians of the ministry seem ready for a busy year. Other tasks on the to-do list include creating a digital litigation system, as well as new visa issuance systems.

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