Expanded Travel Rule to Cover Smaller Transactions
South Korea is preparing one of its toughest Anti-Money Laundering (AML) crackdowns yet, planning to expand its crypto Travel Rule to cover transactions under 1 million won (about $680).
According to a Yonhap News report, the Chairman of the country’s Financial Services Commission (FSC) Lee Eok-won revealed the plans at the National Assembly’s Legislation and Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, saying that the government will crack down on money laundering activities that exploit crypto transactions.
“We will crack down on crypto money laundering [...] expanding the Travel Rule to transactions under 1 million won,” according to a translated version of his comments.
The move closes a gap that allowed users to break transfers into smaller pieces to avoid identity reporting mandates. With the planned change, exchanges will be required to collect and share the sender and receiver for crypto transfers under $680.
Combating Illicit Activities and High-Risk Exchanges
The FSC said the new rules aim to stop the growing use of crypto rails for tax evasion, drug trafficking and other overseas payment schemes.
The expanded rule will be implemented along with new restrictions targeting “high-risk” offshore exchanges. According to the regulator, these are platforms that pose a heightened risk of money laundering. These exchanges will be blocked from interacting with South Koreans.
Exchanges will also undergo more stringent reviews of their financial health, thereby widening the criteria for virtual asset service provider (VASP) registration.
Additionally, the government will prohibit individuals with criminal records involving drugs or tax crimes from becoming major shareholders of VASPs. This aims to prevent malicious actors from holding influential positions at licensed firms.
The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) will also introduce pre-emptive account freezing mechanisms for serious offenses to stop funds from disappearing during investigations.
Officials plan to finalize the new framework in the first half of 2026 and submit legislative amendments to the National Assembly, while expanding their collaboration with global bodies, such as the Financial Action Task Force.
The upcoming changes represent the country’s most comprehensive move to tighten AML regulations since the Special Financial Information Act was updated in 2021.
Previous Efforts Against Tax Evasion
The announcement follows earlier efforts in South Korea to combat tax evasion.
On Oct. 19, a National Tax Service (NTS) official said the agency is prepared to conduct home searches and confiscate cold wallets and hard drives if the owners are suspected of hiding their crypto assets offline to avoid paying their taxes.
The NTS said they would analyze tax delinquent histories using crypto-tracking programs, and if they are suspected of offline concealment, they will be subject to such searches and seizures.