Oh, what’s this? South Korea’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) has stumbled upon a record-breaking surge in cryptocurrency shenanigans. Spoiler: it’s not your grandma’s way of buying lettuce. Virtual asset service providers (VASPs) are filing suspicious transaction reports (STRs) faster than a kimchi-fueled cheetah on a treadmill.
According to Nohap News-which, contrary to its name, is not a nap advisory service-36,684 STRs zoomed into the FIU’s inbox between January and August 2025. That’s more than the combined total of the past two years! For context: in 2021, they had all of 199 reports. Today? They’re drowning in paper trails like a bureaucrat’s nightmare. 📜
Most of these dodgy deals are tied to “hwanchigi,” which sounds like a spicy K-drama villain but is actually a method to smuggle black-market won into crypto via offshore accounts. It’s the financial equivalent of sneaking a giraffe through a cat flap. Once the crypto’s in-country, criminals cash it out faster than you can say “Oppa Gangnam Style.”
The Korea Customs Service (KCS), which clearly needs a raise, has flagged a cool ₩9.56 trillion ($7.1 billion) since 2021. Of that, 90% is hwanchigi-related. That’s enough won to buy every person in Seoul a lifetime supply of kimchi. 🍓
In May, customs agents busted an underground broker playing Tether (USDT) like a fiddle, funneling $42 million between South Korea and Russia. Two Russian nationals allegedly orchestrated 6,000 illegal transactions between 2023 and 2024. Plot twist: they probably thought this was legal because crypto is “decentralized.” 🤦♂️
Democratic Party Rep. Jin Seong-jun, who sits on the National Assembly’s Planning and Finance Committee, warned that stablecoins are becoming “the James Bond of money laundering.” Because nothing says “discreet” like a digital currency named after a cartoon duck. He also suggested regulators grow spines and start tracking funds like it’s a Black Friday sale. 🔍
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2025-09-22 19:04