https://www.chosun.com/english/market-money-en/2026/02/05/UJXGAAL7JBE2XJHOL2ARIZOWWE/
“Come to the Telegram room.”
A drug trafficking organization caught in Incheon lured buyers through dark web and Telegram channels with such messages. Payments were received via accounts under the name of a “virtual asset purchase agency,” then converted into Bitcoin and other virtual assets for cash liquidation—a typical money laundering method to evade investigative tracking. The drugs they distributed were valued at 1 billion Korean won, with 149 buyers identified.
As virtual assets are increasingly exploited for money laundering, tax evasion, drug trafficking, and other crimes, financial authorities are escalating countermeasures. The Korea Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) under the Financial Services Commission announced on the 5th its “2026 Key Anti-Money Laundering Task Plan,” emphasizing strengthened responses to major public harm crimes and transnational offenses. Notably, it plans to mandate stablecoin issuers to incorporate freezing and burning functions from the issuance stage to immediately block funds if misused for crimes.
The core of this strategy is shifting from “post-punishment” to “preemptive blocking.” The FIU views stablecoins as higher-risk for money laundering due to their price stability and potential for mass adoption compared to other virtual assets. Accordingly, stablecoin issuers will be obligated to comply with anti-money laundering duties under the Specific Financial Information Act, such as customer verification, suspicious transaction reporting, and internal controls—requirements currently applied to financial institutions.
Transactions involving individual wallets or overseas businesses will face stricter risk-based management. A parallel initiative requires issuers to embed mandatory freezing or burning mechanisms if stablecoins are used for money laundering. Ha Joo-sik, FIU System Operation Planning Officer, stated in a pre-briefing, “While strict regulations may conflict with the decentralized finance ethos of stablecoins, failing to implement minimal safeguards would be a dereliction of anti-money laundering duties.”
Oversight of virtual assets overall will intensify. The “Travel Rule” (verification of sender and receiver information), currently applied to transactions over 1 million Korean won, will expand to smaller amounts. Transactions with individual wallets or overseas exchanges will only be permitted for low-risk cases, such as when senders and receivers are the same, to enhance transparency.
Legal revisions are also underway to allow the FIU to directly order account suspensions if suspicious accounts linked to major crimes like drug trafficking, gambling, or terrorist financing are detected. Previously, accounts could only be frozen after court approval with clear criminal evidence, but the new system enables financial companies to halt transactions swiftly upon FIU request if major crimes are suspected.
Measures against transnational crime are also being reinforced. The scope of “financial transaction restriction targets”—currently limited to terrorism and nuclear proliferation suspects—will expand to include international criminal organizations. Designated entities will require prior approval from the Financial Services Commission for disposing of funds, bonds, or real estate. Additionally, to swiftly counter overseas criminal groups targeting Koreans, the FIU plans to establish hotlines with relevant countries’ authorities and pursue high-level consultations. The financial authorities noted, “Last year, we held video conferences with Cambodia, Singapore, and Vietnam to discuss cooperation between review and analysis responsible officers.”
