Financial Services Commission to Decide Next Month Whether to Issue Non-Action Letter
[Asia Economy Reporter Ki Ha-young] The Financial Services Commission (FSC) is drawing industry attention as it considers whether to present a 'discharge standard' that would exempt banks from liability even if incidents such as money laundering occur at cryptocurrency exchanges next month.
According to financial authorities on the 27th, the FSC is reviewing opinions from banks requesting the establishment of discharge standards and plans to decide by next month whether to issue a non-action opinion related to this matter. A non-action opinion letter is a document in which financial authorities respond on whether they will take future sanctions or other measures regarding actions that financial companies intend to undertake.
Recently, the Korea Federation of Banks reportedly submitted an opinion to the FSC requesting that banks not be held responsible if money laundering issues arise at cryptocurrency exchanges, provided that there is no intentional or gross negligence on the part of the banks during the real-name verified deposit and withdrawal account screening process.
Under the amended Act on Reporting and Using Specified Financial Transaction Information, virtual asset service providers must report to the FSC by September 24. At this time, obtaining a real-name verified deposit and withdrawal account from a bank is a mandatory requirement. A real-name verified deposit and withdrawal account is an account that allows financial transactions only between the virtual asset service provider's account and its customers' accounts opened at the same financial institution, enabling verification of the real names of the transaction parties.
When opening this account, banks must identify, analyze, and evaluate the risks of money laundering and public intimidation fund procurement inherent in the financial transactions of the virtual asset service provider. In practice, banks bear comprehensive verification responsibility for exchanges, leading them to hesitate to issue real-name verified accounts due to concerns about the risk of involvement in money laundering incidents.
Currently, only four exchanges?Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, and Korbit?have real-name verified deposit and withdrawal accounts, but even they must undergo new bank verifications, so re-contracting is not guaranteed. Other exchanges are struggling to find banks willing to conduct verification.
Even if financial authorities issue a non-action opinion, it is highly likely that they will not present specific itemized criteria such as 'in certain cases, real-name verified deposit and withdrawal accounts may be issued.' Whether to issue real-name verified deposit and withdrawal accounts is a matter for individual banks to decide autonomously, and the FSC's consistent position is that the authorities will not provide standards.
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