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Regulator to rev up anti-money laundering fight via law revision, int'l cooperation

Published: 05 Feb. 2026, 11:14 Updated: 05 Feb. 2026, 19:23

Financial Services Commission (FSC) Chairman Lee Eog-weon speakds during a policy briefing from the FSC and the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) held at the government complex in Seoul on Dec. 19, 2025. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

The country's financial regulator said Thursday that it will seek to revise related laws to better respond to the growing money laundering activities and closely cooperate with other countries to track and crack down on such moves.

The Financial Services Commission (FSC) said it will seek to revise laws to allow the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), the anti-money laundering agency, to freeze accounts suspected of being used for crimes such as drug trafficking and gambling.

It will also push for revisions that would enable the designation of international criminal rings as entities that face curbs on financial transactions.

Seoul will also seek to bolster cooperation with China, Singapore, Cambodia and other Southeast Asian countries to better tackle money laundering activities by sharing information and policies, it added.

To respond to money laundering via virtual assets that have been on the rise, the FSC will strengthen related regulations, such as the crypto travel rule that currently requires virtual asset exchanges to report local transactions worth over 1 million won ($690).

The FSC said it will establish an anti-money laundering scheme for stablecoins as well.

Yonhap