30 Cases of Digital Asset Unfair Transactions Uncovered... Incorporating Account Suspension and Penalties under Basic Law

Following two years of implementation of the Digital Asset User Protection Act, financial authorities have completed investigations into over 40 cases of digital asset market manipulation, reporting 30+ cases to prosecutors. A total of 25 individuals were implicated, with an average of 14 billion won in illicit gains per case. Since July 2, 2024, authorities established a dedicated task force, implemented real-time exchange monitoring, digital forensics, and penalty systems. Investigated cases included 'racehorse' tactics (artificial price spikes through timed orders), 'cornering' (artificial price inflations after halted trading), API-driven high-frequency trading, and cross-border manipulation involving domestic and overseas exchanges. Fraudulent activities also included insider trading via social media misinformation and price manipulation between Tether and Bitcoin markets. Authorities imposed penalties of 125-165% of illicit gains for each case, while leveraging AI for real-time anomaly detection and reducing investigation timelines.