Republic of Korea: National Assembly adopted Revision Bill for Act on Reporting and Using Specified Financial Transaction Information

On 29 January 2026, the National Assembly passed an amendment to the Act on Reporting and Using Specified Financial Transaction Information that changes the registration screening framework for virtual asset service providers. The amendment allows the Korea Financial Intelligence Unit (KoFIU) to assess the criminal record of major shareholders during screening, expanding the scope from company representatives and executives to include major shareholders, and expanding the list of relevant offences to include, among others, offences under drugs, fair trade, tax, and serious economic crime legislation and the Virtual Asset User Protection Act. The amendment also allows the Korea Financial Intelligence Unit to assess whether a provider has a sound financial position and whether the provider has appropriate organisation, staffing, IT systems, and internal control arrangements for compliance with anti-money laundering and related obligations, and creates a legal basis for attaching binding conditions when accepting a registration. Separately, the amendment introduces rules allowing the Korea Financial Intelligence Unit to notify the head of a financial company of sanctions imposed on employees who resigned before a sanction’s decision was issued, with corresponding record-keeping and notification duties. The amendment is expected to apply from around August 2026, 6 months after promulgation, and the Korea Financial Intelligence Unit plans to amend subordinate rules before the application date.