South Korea Investigates Over 40 Crypto Manipulation Cases In Two Years

South Korean financial regulators have looked into more than 40 cases of unfair crypto trading over the past two years, ranging from market manipulation to fraudulent trading schemes. The figures were shared by Financial Services Commission Chair Lee Eog won to mark the second anniversary of the Virtual Asset User Protection Act.

Dozens Referred For Further Action

Of the cases investigated, 30 were reported or handed off to investigative agencies, with 25 suspects identified since the law took effect in July 2024. Lee noted that the average illicit gain per case came out to around 1.4 billion Korean won, or roughly $940,000. He described the past two years as a meaningful stretch that brought the country’s crypto market under a formal legal framework and gave regulators room to build out user protections.

What The Law Actually Covers

The Virtual Asset User Protection Act requires exchanges and other virtual asset service providers to keep customer deposits separate from their own corporate funds, with client money held in banks. It also targets practices like insider trading and wash trading while giving the Financial Services Commission stronger authority to supervise and inspect these platforms.

Lee said the agency plans to keep strengthening its AI-based market surveillance tools and stay ahead of high risk areas going forward.