The Financial Intelligence Unit building in Seoul / Yonhap
The country's anti-money laundering agency said Monday it has decided to fine Coinone, one of Korea's crypto exchanges, 5.2 billion won ($3.49 million) and impose a three-month partial business suspension over lapses in customer verification obligations and transactions with unregistered partners.
The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), under the Financial Services Commission, said Coinone did not comply with its obligations to verify the identities of users in about 70,000 cases.
The crypto exchange is also found to have supported some 10,000 transactions with 16 unregistered exchanges overseas.
During the business suspension, new customers cannot deposit or withdraw their money for crypto trading.
The FIU said Coinone's chief executive officer will receive an official reprimand, and it will give Coinone 10 days to submit an opinion before finalizing the fine.
Cryptocurrency exchanges here are obligated to verify customer identities through real-name accounts linked to domestic banking partners and should report transactions exceeding a specific amount.