The South Korean court ruled to cancel Hanbitco's 2 billion won KYC violation fine

ChainCatcher news, the Seoul Central District Court in South Korea ruled to cancel the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU)'s fine of 1.9942 billion won (approximately 1.42 million USD) imposed on the virtual asset exchange Hanbitco for KYC violations. The court found that the FIU failed to provide evidence proving that 197 customers met the "aggravating conditions" under the Act on Reporting and Using Specified Financial Transaction Information, nor did it conduct relevant investigations. The so-called "aggravating conditions" refer to the suspicion of customer identity, which may involve the concealment of the actual owner's identity, money laundering activities, or risks of financing terrorism.

This ruling may affect the FIU's review of KYC violations by other exchanges, including the recent investigation into 700,000 violations against Upbit.