South Korea’s regulator issues suspension warning to Upbit over 700,000 KYC violations

South Korea’s regulator is about to suspend Upbit’s operations, citing the exchange’s failure to properly implement KYC processes.

South Korea‘s financial regulator, the Financial Intelligence Unit, has notified Upbit, the country’s largest crypto exchange, of a potential suspension over violations of the KYC requirements and AML obligations, the Maeil Business Newspaper has learned.

The report reads that the FIU issued a notice to Upbit on Jan. 9, warning that the exchange could face a suspension of up to six months. During this time, it will not be allowed to onboard new customers, though existing users can continue trading. Upbit has until Jan. 20 to respond to the FIU’s findings. After reviewing Upbit’s explanation, the FIU will make a final decision on the suspension.

The regulator is also investigating whether Upbit violated any rules by doing business with unregistered foreign crypto firms. Upbit has said that it was difficult to identify foreign exchanges ahead of time, but insists that there was no intention to break the law.

As crypto.news reported earlier, following the discovery of Upbit’s violations, the FIU suspended the exchange’s license renewal as South Korean authorities require additional time to examine the large number of suspected KYC breaches. Due to these violations, Upbit could face fines of up to 100 million Korean won (approximately $71,500) per case, potentially accumulating to 35.8 billion Korean won ($27 million) due to the high volume of cases involved.