Chairman Lee Eogwon: "FIU Capabilities to Be Strengthened"... 19th "Anti-Money Laundering Day" Ceremony Held

Commendations for Outstanding Individuals and Organizations in Anti-Money Laundering
Future Policy Directions for Anti-Money Laundering Efforts

The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) announced on November 28 that it held the "19th Anti-Money Laundering Day" ceremony at the Korea Federation of Banks’ international conference hall. Since 2007, the FIU has hosted this annual event to raise awareness and promote understanding of anti-money laundering work.

In his commemorative address, Financial Services Commission Chairman Lee Eogwon stated, "We will introduce a system to freeze accounts suspected of being used for criminal activities to prevent criminal funds from being withdrawn during investigations." He added, "However, the scope of account freezes will be limited to major crimes affecting public welfare, such as drug offenses and gambling, in order to minimize side effects and public inconvenience. The FIU’s organizational capabilities will also be strengthened to ensure the early establishment of the account freeze system."

Chairman Lee also said, "To respond to cross-border money laundering crimes, we will establish a cooperative crime response system with FIUs in Southeast Asia and, taking advantage of events such as the FATF ministerial meeting, prepare international cooperation measures to address global cyber fraud and terrorist financing."

He further announced plans to respond to money laundering activities using virtual assets. He said, "We will improve the virtual asset service provider registration system and significantly enhance regulations such as expanding the travel rule, which currently applies only to transactions over 1 million won, to cover transactions below 1 million won as well."

In addition, he stated that, in cooperation with related organizations, not only financial companies but also lawyers, accountants, and tax accountants will be required to establish anti-money laundering systems, in order to build a comprehensive anti-money laundering framework.

The acting chief prosecutor of the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office remarked in a congratulatory speech, "As money laundering crimes using virtual assets are evolving into transnational organized crime, it is essential to actively utilize the FIU’s analysis of suspicious transaction types and the financial sector’s bulk reporting of suspicious transactions. The prosecution will also make every effort to ensure strict punishment and thorough recovery of criminal proceeds."

The Deputy Commissioner of the National Tax Service emphasized, "The various data provided by the FIU serve as 'valuable and useful information' for tax investigations and delinquent tax collection. Thanks to this, last year alone, 1.9 trillion won was collected through tax investigations and 260 billion won through delinquent tax collection. These achievements are the result of financial institutions, the FIU, and law enforcement agencies working together as one team."

Meanwhile, the FIU awarded commendations to seven organizations and 26 individuals who contributed to anti-money laundering efforts. The awardees included Kakao Bank (Presidential Citation), Acuon Savings Bank (Prime Minister’s Citation), and Kakao Pay, Samsung Card, GNL International, and Okcheon County Forestry Cooperative (Financial Services Commission Chairman’s Citation), among others.

Additionally, 26 individuals, including customs officers who diligently cracked down on illegal foreign exchange and trade-based financial crimes and uncovered money laundering crimes exploiting cross-border transactions, as well as employees of the prosecution, the National Tax Service, the police, and financial company staff working on the frontlines of anti-money laundering, were recognized for faithfully carrying out anti-money laundering work and received the Financial Services Commission Chairman’s Citation.