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South Korea’s financial watchdog prepares new penalties for domestic crypto exchanges as anti-money laundering checks reach final review stages. Regulators move through cases in the order of completed inspections, and decisions are expected across several major platforms in the coming months. Dunamu received penalties earlier this month, and the remaining exchanges now await final decisions after a year of detailed assessments.
The FIU uses a strict inspection order to decide the penalty sequence. Dunamu came first in August last year and then received its sanctions. Korbit followed in October, while GOPAX came next in December.
Bithumb was reviewed in March this year, and Coinone followed in April. The agency continued to advance its investigations through on-site inspections across all major platforms. This created a unified structure for the enforcement phase.
Regulators now handle legal reviews and sanctions committee meetings for each exchange. These steps require time. Therefore, industry watchers expect decisions to follow the original inspection order. Bithumb may move down the queue after an additional review of its order book.
Dunamu received a 35.2 billion KRW fine and a three-month suspension on new deposits and withdrawals. That penalty came after earlier disciplinary warnings issued in February. The same process now applies to the remaining exchanges.
Inspections checked the Know Your Customer procedures and reports of suspicious transactions. Regulators examined similar controls across all platforms. That made many industry participants expect comparable outcomes at each exchange.
Officials signal that total fines across the group could reach hundreds of billions of won. The final amounts depend on the number and severity of violations found during each inspection. Legal committees now work through these details.
This enforcement cycle sets the tone for next year’s regulatory landscape. South Korea already maintains strict anti-money laundering rules. The next penalties could define how exchanges prepare for tighter oversight through 2026.
Most penalties are expected by the first half of next year. Coinone may receive its decisions soon after Bithumb due to the earlier inspection timeline. Bithumb’s case may extend further because of its additional review.
The process now raises a pivotal question: How will these penalties reshape compliance standards across Korea’s crypto market? The answer carries significant weight as each exchange prepares for its final review stage.
South Korea’s FIU moves through its inspection list and prepares major penalties for leading crypto exchanges after extensive AML checks. Dunamu’s case set the structure, and further sanctions are now approaching. The coming decisions may shape Korea’s trading environment, so market participants should monitor every update closely.
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