Korea

Korea will abolish the complex registration system for foreign investors, require English disclosures from listed companies, and establish a regulatory framework for security tokens.

Those engaged in unfair trading activities would face either a prison sentence of at least one year or a fine of between three and five times profits.

New guidelines require the use of biometric authentication systems to prevent password sharing among managers and employees.

At a forum on Monday, FSS governor Lee Bok-hyun also said accounting standards will be established to require companies to disclose their crypto exposures.

The FSS will develop billing standards and retroactively calculate fees MyData service providers will have to pay in 2024 for their usage in 2023.

The guidelines reflect IOSCO's recommendations and will be implemented as KOFIA best practice from 1 February 2023.

Tax authorities raided Bithumb's headquarters in Seoul on Tuesday. Two of its former chairmen have also been the subject of separate probes.

The FSS produced the guidance by analysing three years of cases where fraud and embezzlement were detected by external auditors.

Ten payment services are required to disclose payment commission rates charged to businesses, including Naver Pay, Kakao Pay and Toss Pay.

The change will improve the efficiency and expertise available for conducting investigations into capital market frauds, the FSC said.