South Korea will launch a special investigation into cryptocurrency price manipulation and plans to introduce punitive fines for IT incidents

According to a report by the Korea Herald, the Financial Supervisory Service of South Korea announced its business plan for 2026 today, declaring a series of enhanced regulatory measures for the virtual asset market. The Financial Supervisory Service will conduct special investigations into high-risk areas that disrupt market order, focusing on typical manipulation behaviors such as "whale" market manipulation, "netting" techniques, and "racing" methods, as well as improper trading that spreads false information using API orders or social media.

At the same time, it will develop artificial intelligence analysis tools to conduct second-level and minute-level analysis of virtual assets that experience abnormal surges, automatically identifying suspicious trading intervals and groups.

To prevent financial IT incidents, the Financial Supervisory Service will introduce a punitive fine system and strengthen the security responsibilities of the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Information Security Officer. In addition, a comprehensive monitoring system will be officially operated to collect and disseminate information on cyber threats in the financial sector.

The Financial Supervisory Service has also established a preparation team for the introduction of the "Basic Law on Digital Assets" to support the effective implementation of secondary legislation on virtual assets. The preparation team will develop a disclosure system related to the issuance and trading support of virtual assets and create a business operation manual for licensing reviews of digital asset operators and stablecoin issuers.