South Korea's financial regulator plans to revise laws and boost international cooperation to combat rising money laundering activities. The Financial Services Commission aims to empower the anti-money laundering agency to freeze suspicious accounts and impose curbs on international criminal rings. It will also strengthen regulations on virtual assets.
On February 5, 2026, South Korea's Financial Services Commission (FSC) announced plans to revise related laws to address the growing threat of money laundering activities and to enhance international cooperation for tracking and cracking down on such operations. The revisions will allow the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), the country's anti-money laundering agency, to freeze accounts suspected of involvement in crimes like drug trafficking and gambling. Additionally, the FSC will push for changes enabling the designation of international criminal rings as entities subject to restrictions on financial transactions.
Seoul aims to strengthen ties with countries including China, Singapore, Cambodia, and other Southeast Asian nations by sharing information and policies to better combat money laundering. This collaborative approach is intended to improve detection and enforcement.
In response to the rise in money laundering through virtual assets, the FSC will bolster relevant regulations, including the crypto travel rule, which currently requires virtual asset exchanges to report domestic transactions exceeding 1 million won (about $690). The commission also plans to establish an anti-money laundering framework specifically for stablecoins.
These measures reflect efforts to counter the globalization and digitalization of money laundering, with the FSC emphasizing international partnerships to maximize effectiveness.
