South Korea blocks 27 websites of unregistered virtual asset operators

South Korea's Financial Services Commission (FSC) said on 13 October 2026 that the websites of illegal virtual asset operators, meaning businesses not registered under the country's Act on Reporting and Using Specified Financial Transaction Information, will be blocked in Korea. The action covers 27 websites currently in operation.

According to the FSC, its Financial Intelligence Unit (KoFIU) requested the action and the country's broadcasting, media and communications standards commission (방송미디어통신심의위원회) decided it after two reviews on 6 and 7 October. Depending on whether the server or operator is in Korea, the measure is either termination of service (in Korea) or access blocking (overseas). The FSC describes this as a step beyond earlier blocks of operators' apps on Google and Apple app stores.

The FSC says 28 virtual asset operators are currently registered with KoFIU and that 44 illegal operators have so far been referred to investigative authorities. Operating without registration can be punished by up to 5 years in prison or a fine of up to 50 million won, and operators that breach the rules, including by dealing with unregistered operators, face administrative fines of up to 100 million won per violation. The FSC says a June 2026 joint inspection with DAXA, the Korean exchanges' self-regulatory body, found the unregistered operators charged average trading fees of 1.5% to 10%, compared with an average of 0.16% at the five major won-based exchanges.

The FSC urged the public to check that a provider is registered, to be wary of promises of high returns or guaranteed principal, and to withdraw assets immediately from any operator found to be unregistered.