Gruesome Seoul Murder Sparks Push for Crypto Regulation

A screaming woman was dragged out of an apartment building in the middle of the night on March 29 and forced into a vehicle, which sped away. Her body was found several days later, Bloomberg reported.

The murder is believed to have occurred after a dispute over crypto investment losses, South Korean authorities reported. It’s also thought the assailant had tried to steal the victim’s digital assets. The kidnapping was recorded by security cameras in Gangnam, a Seoul neighborhood equivalent to New York’s East Hills District in terms of wealth.

Opposition leader: We need a law ASAP

Back Hyeryun, chair of the Parliament’s National Policy Committee, told Bloomberg in an interview:

There is finally a consensus on both sides of the aisle that we need to get a law in place as soon as possible. There were too many issues, so it was necessary to focus on one thing first — investor protection — to move on quickly.

Back, an opposition legislator, has been pushing to pass the Virtual Asset User Protection Bill for some time. She points out that the Do Kwon case and the murder in Gangnam have “strengthened public consensus” for crypto laws and regulations.

The latest bill combines 19 previous crypto-related bills. It puts out a definition of virtual assets and envisages penalties for unfair trading practices, market manipulation, using nonpublic information, etc.

If passed into law, it would give the country’s Financial Services Commission the authority to monitor digital asset custody and crypto operators’ activity. The Central Bank of South Korea will also be allowed to investigate such platforms.

Crypto demand plummeted in South Korea

According to data cited by Bloomberg, South Korea’s monthly crypto trading volume dropped from $200 billion in 2021 to $38 billion in April 2023. There has been a broader 2022 market decline in addition to the collapse of Do Kwon’s Luna and TerraUSD coins, which erased value of $1.5 trillion and led to FTX’s downfall.