The South Korean government is propelling towards enforcing stricter laws regarding digital assets. This step comes forth following a ghastly murder crime wherein a woman was abducted and killed in South Korea over a disagreement involving Digital assets.
According to the reports, a woman was abducted on March 29 and murdered later. It is firmly believed that the incident involved disagreements over crypto-related losses which in turn led to the abduction as well as murder of the woman. Taking into account the recent murder case, South Korean lawmakers are facing serious urgency regarding the expedition of the nation’s first standalone crypto bill. The impending bill is expected to be passed by the end of the month in a parliamentary vote.
Back Hyeryun, a member of the opposition Democratic Party of Korea and lawmaker commented “There is finally an agreement on both sides of the aisle and it is significant to establish a law as soon as possible”. She also emphasized the increased number of issues concerning digital assets and the obligatory need to focus on one thing first and move on to the next as quickly as possible.
The new bill that is expected to pass later this month is called Virtual Asset User Protection Bill and is designed to cover a total of 19 different crypto-bills under one standalone bill. The draft version of the bill outlined, definition of virtual assets and the imposition of penalties for offences such as insider trading and market manipulation. Furthermore, the new bill grants power to the Financial Services Commission in the country to superintend all crypto companies and custody of assets.
In addition, digital asset firms will be mandated to obtain insurance coverage safeguarding against hacking incidents. Stricter regulations are to be implemented concerning reserve funds and how accounts are maintained. These regulations will specifically pertain to cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin whereas tokens classified as securities by the government will be subject to existing capital-markets laws.