The National Assembly of South Korea is progressing a bill that would provide a legal basis for cryptocurrencies in the country.
The bill would categorize virtual currencies as digital assets while intending to bring regulatory clarity and transparency to crypto markets in South Korea.
On Nov. 27 English language newspaper, Korea JoongAng Daily reported that the bill was passed by the National Assembly’s national policy committee and still needs to be approved by the judiciary committee. The law would come into force into 2020 if approved.
New Bill Is An Attempt To Prevent Money Laundering
The bill requires that all the businesses related to cryptos would need to be registered with the Financial Services Commission’s (FSC), Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) and report to the authority.
The businesses will have to obtain an Information Security Management System certificate from the state-run Korea Internet and Security Agency in order to be approved as a crypto firm in South Korea.
Financial Services Commission’s (FSC) states that the legislation will make crypto markets more transparent and legitimize investment in digital assets to prevent illicit practices such as money laundering.
Meanwhile, crypto firms will have to adopt their own monitoring systems for financial transactions in compliance with standards by the Financial Action Task Force. The report notes that those who fail to establish their own oversight systems will be penalized,
The new bill is although not the first attempt by South Korean authorities to provide an Anti-Money Laundering (AML) framework.
Source: Korea Joongang Daily | Cointelegraph
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