The South Korean Financial Commission reviews Upbit and finds 500,000 suspected KYC violation cases

ChainCatcher news, the Financial Information Unit (FIU) of the South Korean Financial Services Commission has discovered at least 500,000 suspected violations of customer identity verification (KYC) obligations during its review of the business renewal of the virtual asset exchange Upbit. The FIU is examining the legality of these cases one by one.

The violations found during this review include some accounts that registered using vague identification documents, which may be used for money laundering or other illegal activities. According to the Act on Reporting and Using Specified Financial Transaction Information, virtual asset exchanges are required to renew their licenses every three years, and for violations of customer identity verification obligations, each case may be fined up to 100 million won. The FIU's review of Upbit is still ongoing.

KYC is a necessary procedure under anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorism financing (CTF) requirements, and exchanges must ensure that users submit valid identification and complete identity verification.