South Korea Tightens Oversight of Cross-Border Crypto Transfers

South Korea’s National Assembly has approved amendments to the Foreign Exchange Transaction Act aimed at tightening controls on domestic firms moving crypto assets overseas. Under the revised rules, companies transferring crypto assets abroad for commercial purposes must register in advance with the Minister of Economy and Finance. The legislation also creates a new category, "virtual asset transfer business," covering entities such as crypto exchanges and digital-asset custodians involved in buying, selling, exchanging, or transferring crypto assets in domestic and cross-border transactions. The move adds to a broader regulatory crackdown. The Financial Services Commission (FSC) plans to apply the Travel Rule to all cryptocurrency transactions, expanding it beyond the current threshold of 1 million KRW. Separately, South Korea is set to introduce a 22% capital gains tax on crypto profits exceeding 2.5 million KRW from January 2027.