Introduction of 'Fast Track' for Virtual Asset Crimes like Coins... Expectation for Swift Investigation

Implementation of the Virtual Asset User Protection Act Scheduled for July... Discussions Between Financial Services Commission and Ministry of Justice

The government is pushing to introduce a ‘Fast Track (emergency measure)’ system to respond to unfair crimes such as price manipulation in the coin market. Once the Fast Track is implemented, the financial authorities will be able to bypass the internal review process within the Financial Services Commission for unfair trading cases under investigation and directly transfer the cases to the prosecution.

On the 11th, as Bitcoin continued its upward trend and surpassed 100 million KRW, the Bitcoin price was displayed on the electronic billboard at the Upbit Customer Support Center in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jo Yongjun jun21@

According to the legal community on the 19th, the Financial Services Commission and the Ministry of Justice have formed a task force (TF) and are discussing the ‘Investigation Work Regulations,’ which include the introduction of a Fast Track system for unfair virtual asset trading. The financial authorities plan to apply these regulations in line with the enforcement of the Virtual Asset User Protection Act on July 19.

The virtual asset Fast Track is being discussed as a system where, once the Financial Supervisory Service completes its investigation, the case is transferred to the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Office’s Joint Investigation Unit on Virtual Asset Crimes (headed by Lee Jeong-ryeol) by the decision of the Financial Services Commission’s authorized decision-maker.

Illustration by Kim Dahee

Currently, crimes related to virtual assets require proving unfair trading acts under the charge of ‘fraud,’ making the procedures somewhat complicated. The Virtual Asset User Protection Act, which will be enforced in July, includes legal grounds to take action against unfair virtual asset trading acts.

With the enforcement of the Virtual Asset User Protection Act and the introduction of the virtual asset Fast Track, prosecution investigations into coin crimes are expected to gain momentum. If the prosecution can promptly initiate investigations, securing evidence will become easier, which is anticipated to reduce investor damages.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.