South Korean regulators intensified pressure on the domestic crypto sector at year-end, issuing a major penalty against one of the country’s licensed exchanges.
The action underscores a broader regulatory push to tighten compliance standards across digital asset platforms.
On December 31, 2025, South Korea’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), operating under the Financial Services Commission (FSC), imposed a ₩2.73 billion fine, equivalent to $1.9 million, on Korbit.
The penalty followed an on-site inspection conducted in October 2024 and included more than a monetary sanction. Regulators also issued an institutional warning and disciplinary actions against senior management, including a formal caution directed at Korbit’s CEO.
According to the FIU, Korbit committed multiple violations of South Korea’s Special Financial Transactions Act, primarily tied to customer identification failures. Inspectors found that the exchange allowed trading in approximately 22,000 cases where users had not completed mandatory identity verification procedures.
In addition, Korbit failed to properly re-verify customer identities or accepted unclear or incomplete identification documents in roughly 5.3 million instances. These lapses directly breached requirements designed to prevent money laundering and illicit financial flows.
The inspection also uncovered violations related to cross-border activity. Korbit was found to have facilitated 19 cryptocurrency transactions involving three unregistered overseas virtual asset service providers (VASPs).
Under South Korean law, domestic exchanges are prohibited from interacting with unregistered foreign platforms. Regulators viewed these transactions as a serious compliance failure, particularly given the heightened risks associated with offshore counterparties.
Beyond customer verification issues, the FIU cited systemic weaknesses in Korbit’s internal controls. The exchange failed to conduct mandatory money laundering risk assessments for 655 new digital assets or services, including non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
Such assessments are a core regulatory requirement before listing or supporting new products. The absence of these reviews suggested insufficient governance processes as Korbit expanded its offerings.
The enforcement action against Korbit follows a larger fine imposed earlier in 2025 on Upbit, South Korea’s largest cryptocurrency exchange. Together, the cases point to heightened regulatory scrutiny and a clear signal from authorities that AML and customer verification failures will carry significant consequences.
As South Korea tightens oversight of its crypto sector, regulators appear focused on enforcing strict compliance standards, regardless of an exchange’s size or market position.
