South Korea to Enhance Virtual Asset Market Regulations by 2026

South Korea's Financial Supervisory Service announced plans to strengthen regulations in the virtual asset market by 2026. According to PANews, the agency aims to investigate high-risk areas that disrupt market order, focusing on manipulative practices such as 'whale' market manipulation, 'cage' tactics, and 'horse racing' methods. It will also target improper trading involving API orders or false information spread via social media. Additionally, artificial intelligence tools will be developed for rapid analysis of abnormal surges in virtual assets, enabling automatic identification of suspicious trading intervals and groups. To prevent financial IT incidents, the agency will introduce punitive fines and enhance security responsibilities for CEOs and chief information security officers. A comprehensive monitoring system will be implemented to collect and disseminate cyber threat information within the financial sector. Furthermore, the agency has established a preparatory group for the introduction of the Basic Law on Digital Assets to support the effective execution of secondary virtual asset legislation. This group will develop disclosure systems related to virtual asset issuance and trading support, and create a licensing review business manual for digital asset operators and stablecoin issuers.