ChainCatcher news, according to the Korea Daily News, the South Korean Ministry of Science and ICT announced plans to raise a metaverse fund of approximately 40 billion won this year for investment management companies. This year's fund will include 23 billion won from the government (reinvested fund recovery) and 17 billion won from private contributions, with a minimum scale of 40 billion won. The selected management companies will focus on investing in small and medium-sized enterprises related to key foundational technologies such as XR, AI, digital twins, and blockchain that realize metaverse products and services, with an investment ratio exceeding 60%.In addition, to promote the AI integration of promising metaverse enterprises, the selected management companies must also invest more than 50% in AI integration or overseas companies to continuously support active overseas expansion and exports.

ChainCatcher news, the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) under the Financial Services Commission (FSC) of South Korea has taken enforcement action against overseas cryptocurrency exchanges that provide services to Korean users without registration, based on the Act on Reporting and Using Specified Financial Transaction Information. It is reported that the FIU is considering blocking website access as a primary enforcement measure, targeting exchanges including BitMEX, KuCoin, CoinW, Bitunix, and KCEX.

ChainCatcher news, according to South Korean media reports, the South Korean prosecution has launched a forced search against the cryptocurrency trading platform Bithumb, which is suspected of providing company funds to purchase an apartment for its former representative director.The Southern District Prosecutors' Office of Seoul conducted a seizure search today at Bithumb's headquarters located in the Yaksu-dong area of Seoul. It is reported that Bithumb provided a rental deposit of 3 billion won for an apartment in Seongdong-gu to its former representative director and current advisor Kim Dae-sik, part of which is suspected to have been used by Advisor Kim for personal apartment purchases.The Financial Supervisory Service has initiated an investigation into the related allegations and has recently transferred the case to the prosecution.

ChainCatcher news, the South Korean prosecution has requested the court to sentence a man to 10 years in prison for stabbing the CEO of the South Korean cryptocurrency custody company HaruInvest during a court hearing in August 2024. The Southern District Prosecutor's Office in Seoul confirmed to The Block that they made the sentencing request during the final hearing of the court attack case on Wednesday, considering the severity of the crime.The attacker, identified as Mr. Kang (phonetic), 51, repeatedly stabbed Haru Invest CEO Lee Hyung-soo in the neck with a fruit knife. Lee Hyung-soo was quickly taken to the hospital, but his injuries were not life-threatening.This incident occurred while Lee Hyung-soo was appearing in court due to multiple fraud-related charges. According to the prosecution, from March 2020 to June 2023, Haru Invest attracted about 16,000 domestic and foreign investors by promising to return the principal and pay interest of up to 16%, despite the company being in a state of capital impairment since 2019. On June 13, 2023, Haru Invest suddenly suspended deposits and withdrawals and announced bankruptcy last November.

According to ChainCatcher news, the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) of South Korea has requested that cryptocurrency exchanges pay a total of 7.9 billion won (approximately 5.54 million USD) in annual regulatory fees. This fee is set at 0.6%, higher than the initially expected 0.4%. These fees must be paid quarterly by the end of March, May, July, and October each year. The fee distribution is as follows, except for Korbit (whose operating revenue is below 3 billion won, approximately 2.08 million USD):Upbit operator Dunamu will pay 6.7 billion won (approximately 4.64 million USD);Bithumb will pay 900 million won (approximately 624,000 USD);Coinone will pay 150 million won (approximately 104,000 USD);Gopax will pay about 21.35 million won (approximately 14,800 USD).The total fees for the four major exchanges amount to approximately 7.9 billion won (around 5.54 million USD).

ChainCatcher news, the first batch of 3,000 "XR7 AI Dual Gateway" units delivered by EdgeX Labs to the South Korean market is officially online and in use. This marks the formal integration of edge computing resources into the EdgeX Labs distributed infrastructure network in the South Korean market, which will provide more stable, efficient, and low-cost computing support for EdgeX Labs AI accelerators.The "XR7 AI Dual Gateway" is an edge computing network endpoint device from EdgeX Labs. It effectively provides basic computing services for AI Agents, distributed memory storage, and broadband resources, and is equipped with the unique EdgeX OS operating system. It not only offers efficient and secure edge-side AI computing capabilities but also ensures network security and stability.In addition, the intelligent central scheduling system built by EdgeX Labs can reasonably and efficiently allocate AI Agent tasks, enhancing the concurrent processing capabilities of Agents, significantly reducing business latency, and strengthening real-time performance to meet the needs of various AI Agent application developments and complex task innovations.

ChainCatcher news, according to Cryptonews, South Korean media outlet "Daily Kyungjae" reported that South Korean regulators are closely monitoring developments in Japan before making a decision on cryptocurrency spot ETFs. This means that if Japanese regulators approve a Bitcoin ETF application, South Korean regulators may also follow suit.The Japanese Financial Services Commission (FSC) has been discussing the approval of Bitcoin ETFs since the end of last year. However, the agency has repeatedly shown a lukewarm attitude towards cryptocurrencies, especially Bitcoin ETFs. As a result, South Korean financial authorities "have also begun to react." According to the media report, another top regulatory body in South Korea, the Financial Supervisory Service, has reviewed the cryptocurrency policies of Japan's Financial Services Agency (FSA) and "shared its findings with relevant organizations in Seoul."Major Japanese media outlets, including the Nikkei, reported that the Financial Services Agency is considering reclassifying cryptocurrencies as investment tools and is also "considering" approving Bitcoin and altcoin ETFs. South Korean regulators believe that the silence of the Financial Services Agency on this matter adds credibility to the reports from the Nikkei.

ChainCatcher news, according to the Korea Economic TV, the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) under the Financial Services Commission of Korea held a "Anti-Money Laundering Trustee Meeting" to discuss regulatory plans against new types of money laundering methods such as virtual asset trading.The FIU will focus on cracking down on money laundering activities using virtual accounts and simple remittances, conducting special operations once a month to analyze suspicious transactions related to crimes such as voice phishing, pyramid schemes, and gambling targeting vulnerable groups. The Financial Supervisory Service stated that it will strengthen inspections of companies with insufficient implementation of anti-money laundering systems and promote cooperation between consumer protection departments and anti-money laundering departments.

ChainCatcher news, according to a report by Yonhap Infomax, Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon expressed support for cryptocurrency ETFs and Security Token Offerings (STOs). In a post on Facebook, Oh stated that South Korea should establish a regulatory framework that integrates virtual assets with the real economy, similar to the models in the United States and Europe.He emphasized the importance of establishing foundational legislation for virtual assets, which would enable cryptocurrency ETFs, corporate cryptocurrency trading, and STOs, and pointed out that these practices have been widely accepted in leading countries.

ChainCatcher News, the Chinese Embassy in South Korea's official WeChat account published a typical case of a virtual currency "pig slaughtering" scam, revealing that a certain international student, under the romantic pressure from his girlfriend, became firmly convinced that he could make money by "trading virtual currency" and entrusted his account to her for management, subsequently transferring over 300,000 RMB for "recharging." The Chinese Embassy in South Korea reminds that online dating carries risks and not to believe in investment schemes that claim to have "insider information" and guarantee profits.

ChainCatcher news, according to Yonhap News Agency, the operator of the South Korean virtual asset exchange Upbit, Dunamu, has filed a lawsuit with the Seoul Administrative Court to revoke the business suspension order imposed by the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of South Korea and has applied for a stay of execution.Previously, on February 25, the FIU made several punitive decisions against Dunamu and its employees for violating the Specific Financial Information Act, including a three-month business suspension for nine employees, a warning issued to CEO Lee Seok-woo, and the dismissal of the compliance officer. The suspension order will restrict new customers from transferring virtual assets from March 7 to June 6.The FIU's penalties stem from on-site inspections conducted from August to October last year, which found that Dunamu had conducted transactions with unreported virtual asset operators abroad and violated customer verification obligations. Dunamu stated that it will truthfully explain the relevant circumstances during the court hearing.

ChainCatcher news, Ripple announced a partnership with South Korean digital asset custody provider BDACS to support institutional custody of XRP and Ripple USD, expanding the availability of Ripple's stablecoin RLUSD.

ChainCatcher news, according to Modern Express, a Chinese man was found dead in a hotel in Jeju, South Korea, suspected to have been murdered during a virtual currency transaction.The South Korean police have arrested four Chinese suspects, including two women in their 30s, one man in his 30s, and one man in his 60s. It has been confirmed that the four suspects fled with 85 million won belonging to the victim, and investigations into the motive and circumstances of the crime are ongoing.

ChainCatcher news, the South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Upbit has explained the sanctions imposed by financial authorities, stating that these sanctions were taken based on issues identified during the 2024 Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) on-site inspection. The specific sanctions include a partial suspension of operations and a ban on new customers transferring virtual assets. Upbit has reviewed the necessary improvement measures and completed the actions taken to respond to the sanctions imposed by the financial authorities. The sanctions implemented may change according to relevant regulatory procedures. If the relevant measures are suspended or become ineffective, new users will be able to use Upbit's services without restrictions.

ChainCatcher news, according to Etoday, the South Korean Supreme Court has ruled that the stablecoin TerraUSD and the cryptocurrency Luna are not considered financial investment products or securities. These digital assets collapsed in May 2022, resulting in a loss of approximately $40 billion in value. The latest court ruling may impact similar legal disputes in lower courts.In November 2022, a court in Seoul rejected the prosecutors' request to confiscate the assets of Daniel Shin, co-founder of Terraform Labs, the company behind these tokens. When the prosecutors appealed, the same court reaffirmed its ruling in February 2023.In the appellate court, the judges stated that the evidence provided by the prosecution was insufficient to classify Luna as a "financial investment product" under the Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act. This ruling was made three years after the legal proceedings began.

ChainCatcher news, according to Cryptonews, a survey by Hashed Open Research shows that 25% of the South Korean population currently holds cryptocurrency. The survey targeted 2,000 South Korean residents aged 20-69, with the highest participation rate in the 30-39 age group, reaching 54%.The data indicates that 3.6% of respondents hold crypto assets worth over 100 million won (approximately $68,900), while 25% of respondents hold amounts between $689 and $3,443. 57% of cryptocurrency investors reported using their salaries for investment, and more than half of the investors stated that they chose cryptocurrency because "it can provide higher returns in the short term compared to other assets."Notably, about a quarter of cryptocurrency holders use overseas exchanges or decentralized exchanges (DEX), with more than half storing over 20% of their assets on these platforms. The survey also revealed that 11% of respondents who have never invested in cryptocurrency expressed an intention to invest in the future.

ChainCatcher news, according to Jinshi reports, market news: South Korea will gradually allow companies to participate in the cryptocurrency market.

ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, Judge Jeong Woo-Yong of the 9th Criminal Division of the Southern District Court of Seoul ruled that Mr. Kim was acquitted of charges of obstructing official duties by deception.On December 18, 2024, prosecutors requested a six-month prison sentence for Mr. Kim, accusing him of declaring total assets of 1.2 billion won (834,000 USD) in 2021, while actually holding nearly 9.9 billion won (6.8 million USD) in cryptocurrency. Prosecutors claimed that Mr. Kim obstructed the Ethics Committee's review of lawmakers' assets due to potential conflicts of interest arising from his holdings.However, Judge Jeong ruled at the time that, under the Korean Public Service Ethics Act, virtual assets are currently not subject to mandatory disclosure. The court found it difficult to determine that the lawmaker had an obligation to disclose his assets.

ChainCatcher news, according to the virtual asset enterprise registration status released by the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) under the Financial Services Commission of Korea, the total number of virtual asset enterprises in South Korea is 31. Among the previously registered 42 enterprises, 11 have been removed from the list, including Gdac, Probit, Huobi Korea, and others.