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South Korea Moves Ahead With 2025 Bill to Create Dedicated Virtual Asset Watchdog
SEOUL — South Korean lawmakers are moving forward with legislation that would create a dedicated virtual asset watchdog as early as 2025, a step aimed at tightening market oversight and strengthening user protection in the country's fast-growing crypto sector.
According to Newsis, the National Assembly's National Policy Committee began reviewing on March 31, 2025, a partial amendment to the Act on the Protection of Virtual Asset Users. The proposal would establish a new surveillance body made up of virtual asset service providers, designed to deliver a more systematic approach to monitoring the digital asset market.
South Korea has pursued crypto regulation through a mix of planned reforms and responses to market stress. After the volatility of 2022 and a series of high-profile exchange failures, authorities stepped up scrutiny. The 2023 Act on the Protection of Virtual Asset Users introduced baseline requirements around transparency and operational standards, but regulators have flagged ongoing shortcomings in real-time surveillance and coordinated enforcement. The amendment seeks to close those gaps, following a period in which the Financial Services Commission (FSC) shared oversight responsibilities across multiple agencies.
Policy analysts say a notable feature of the plan is the formal inclusion of industry participants in the watchdog's structure. The model is often described as a self-regulatory organization with enforcement capacity, aiming to combine market expertise with official supervision. Kim Jaehyun, a fintech regulation specialist at Seoul National University, said industry integration reflects the technical realities of monitoring virtual asset markets and mirrors approaches seen in places such as Japan and the European Union.
If implemented, the watchdog could bring several near- and long-term changes. Market participants expect stronger deterrence of unfair trading and manipulation, clearer and more consistent reporting standards for service providers, and increased operational transparency. Some in the industry anticipate consolidation as compliance demands rise, leaving better-capitalized and more compliant exchanges in a stronger position. Others warn higher compliance costs could weigh on smaller startups.
Expected shifts include real-time monitoring of trading activity across registered platforms, standardized disclosures on risks and reserves, centralized investigative and sanctioning authority, and strengthened user protection measures such as asset segregation and improved complaint handling.
The initiative would place South Korea among jurisdictions building specialized crypto oversight regimes. Japan's Financial Services Agency has long enforced a strict licensing system, while the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework was fully implemented in 2024. South Korea's proposal stands out for requiring direct industry membership within the watchdog, blending self-regulation with state authority.
The amendment now moves into detailed committee review, where lawmakers are expected to debate specific provisions, funding and the scope of powers. Observers believe that if the committee advances the bill, it could reach a National Assembly vote by late Q2 2025. Even if passed, implementing decrees and setting up the new body could push the operational timeline into 2026, depending on political consensus and industry feedback.
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