Lee Chan-jin: "The Virtual Asset Industry Must Prioritize Internal Controls and Consumer Protection"

Lee Chan-jin, Governor of the Financial Supervisory Service, called in the chief executive officers (CEOs) of virtual asset service providers and requested that they make internal control reinforcement and consumer protection their top priorities.

On February 12, Lee Chan-jin, Governor of the Financial Supervisory Service, attended a meeting with bank presidents held at the Bankers' Hall in Jung-gu, Seoul, and delivered opening remarks. 2026.02.12 Photo by Yoon Dongju

On the afternoon of July 2, at Park Byung-won Hall in Front1, Mapo, Governor Lee held a meeting with the CEOs of 15 major virtual asset service providers and made these remarks. The meeting was organized to exchange opinions on ways to strengthen internal controls to enhance trust in the virtual asset market.

Governor Lee emphasized the importance of internal controls. He stated, "The foundation of market confidence lies in the control systems that operate routinely within a company," and added, "For sustainable development and sound growth, I ask that you pay special attention and put in dedicated effort to establish and operate a company-wide internal control system."

He also urged them to respond to changes in regulatory frameworks. Governor Lee said, "Ahead of the enactment of the Digital Asset Basic Act, regulations related to virtual assets are being refined through recent amendments to the Act on Reporting and Use of Certain Financial Transaction Information and the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act," and continued, "Since institutional changes are underway in various fields, please thoroughly monitor regulatory revisions to ensure there are no gaps in compliance."

He requested that exchanges strengthen their market surveillance functions. Governor Lee noted, "As unfair trading in virtual assets becomes increasingly sophisticated, the scale and diversity of unfair trading will grow further as the market expands," and urged, "Please focus on enhancing your market surveillance capabilities so that exchanges can effectively prevent and detect unfair trading."

Finally, Governor Lee stressed that "users are not merely targets for profit generation but are partners for mutual growth. Please keep in mind that pursuing only short-term performance through the launch of high-risk products or sensational events will lead to a loss of user trust." He reiterated that user protection must be the highest priority.

The CEOs in attendance agreed on the importance of establishing a trustworthy trading environment. They stated that they would not only comply with laws such as the Virtual Asset User Protection Act but also faithfully implement self-regulation in advertising and promotions while strengthening internal controls. However, some pointed out that, given differences in business scale among providers, a gradual approach to regulation that takes into account the number of users and business scope would also be necessary.

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