South Korea Cracks Down on 40 Crypto Market Manipulation Cases

South Korean financial authorities are stepping up their fight against bad actors in the crypto space. Since the Virtual Asset User Protection Act became law in July 2024, the Financial Services Commission has completed 40 investigations into market manipulation. Over 30 of these cases have been sent to investigative agencies for formal prosecution.

The crackdown reveals the scale of illicit activity, with average illegal gains hitting 1.4 billion won per case. In one instance, gains climbed above 5 billion won. To punish those involved, regulators have already started imposing penalties as high as 165 percent of the illicit profits earned.

Looking ahead, officials plan to get even tougher. New measures under consideration include the power to freeze bank accounts to stop criminals from hiding their proceeds. The government is also looking into a reward system for whistleblowers and plans to use artificial intelligence to spot suspicious trading patterns more quickly.

These moves aim to rebuild public trust in the local digital asset market. As regulators refine their surveillance tools, traders should expect more active monitoring of activity on domestic exchanges.