South Korea plans to legislate giving financial authorities the power to freeze suspected illegal virtual asset accounts

On July 30, Digital Asset reported that South Korea's National Force Party MP Kim Sang-hoon joined 15 members to initiate an amendment to the Specific Financial Information Law on July 28. The bill defines the unique identification number assigned to users by virtual asset service providers as accounts, and gives the Financial Information Analysis Institute (FIU) the power to request payment freezing on bank accounts and virtual asset accounts suspected of being used for illegal property transfers. The freezing period is 30 days and can be extended once. Financial institutions that fail to implement it in a timely manner will face a fine of up to 100 million won. The bill was officially implemented six months after it was promulgated.