South Korean Customs Service Uncovers Illegal Foreign Exchange Case Involving Virtual Assets, Amount Involved Approximately 140 Billion KRW

Odaily News The Seoul Main Customs Office of the Korea Customs Service recently announced that it has transferred a case involving large-scale illegal foreign exchange using virtual assets to the prosecution. The investigation revealed that the involved group conducted illegal foreign exchange through domestic and overseas virtual asset accounts over the past 4 years, with a cumulative amount of approximately 148.9 billion KRW, and collected handling fees in the process, suspected of violating the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act.

The Customs Service disclosed that after receiving client funds through methods such as WeChat Pay and Alipay, the group purchased virtual assets in multiple overseas countries and transferred them to domestic Korean wallets, then converted them into Korean won for cash withdrawal. The involved individuals include three people, among them a Chinese man in his 30s. The related fund uses covered trade payments, duty-free goods procurement payments, study abroad expenses, as well as funds with unclear purposes; as long as handling fees were paid, they would assist with the exchange.

Furthermore, the investigation also found that a person who previously served as a consultation room manager at a plastic surgery clinic had attracted foreign clients by promoting "assistance in illegally remitting surgery fees." The case has now been transferred to the prosecution for further handling. (imnews)