South Korea
Registration became genuine prudential supervision when the Virtual Asset User Protection Act took effect. The registered population has shrunk, not grown.
Who regulates this
Financial Services CommissionFSC
Policy and supervision of virtual asset service providers.
Korea Financial Intelligence UnitKoFIU
VASP registration and ongoing monitoring under the Act on Reporting and Using Specified Financial Transaction Information (the Specified Financial Information Act).
Licences and permissions
VASP registration
Exchange, custody, brokerage and transfer of virtual assets.
Requires an Information Security Management System certification and a real-name verified deposit and withdrawal account with a Korean bank — the bank relationship is the practical gate, and banks are selective.
Obligations under the Virtual Asset User Protection Act
User asset segregation, insurance or reserves, and market-abuse prohibitions.
In force since 19 July 2024. It converted registration from an AML gatekeeping exercise into a continuing supervisory relationship closer to that of a financial institution.
What it takes
Capital
No single headline figure. The binding constraints are the ISMS certification, the real-name banking arrangement, and the user-asset protection requirements — insurance or reserves against hacking and system failure.
Timeline
Twelve months or more, and dominated by securing a Korean bank partner rather than by the regulator.
Substance
A Korean entity, Korean-resident compliance officers, and Korean-language operations.
Where a software vendor sits
Registration attaches to the operator. The VAUPA regime holds the registered VASP responsible for system stability and user asset protection in detail, so a technology provider will be diligenced hard on availability, incident handling and change control.
What catches people out
This market is consolidating, not opening. 29 VASPs passed the first screening in December 2021; as of January 2026 there were 27, and a further amendment tightens entry from 20 August 2026. Foreign entrants increasingly partner with a registered Korean operator rather than register directly — which is a legitimate route worth pricing into your plan from the start.
Verify this yourself
We would rather you checked. These are the primary and authoritative secondary sources behind the summary above.