Korean Customs Service Busts Illegal Foreign Exchange Case Using Virtual Assets, Involving 140 Billion Korean Won

**Jan 19 – The Seoul Customs Office under South Korea’s Customs Service has referred a large-scale illegal foreign exchange case involving virtual assets to prosecutors.** An investigation found the criminal group engaged in illegal forex transactions through domestic and foreign virtual asset accounts over the past four years, totaling approximately 140 billion South Korean won ($95 million). The group collected fees for the activity and allegedly violated the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act. The Customs Office noted the group gathered customer funds via methods like WeChat Pay and Alipay, purchased virtual assets in multiple overseas countries, transferred them to wallets in South Korea, then converted them to Korean won for cash withdrawal. Three people are involved in the case, including a 30-something Chinese man. The group assisted with forex for various purposes—trade payments, duty-free purchases, tuition fees, and funds of unknown origin—provided customers paid a fee.