Korean Government Plans Action Over Risks of Resurgent Crypto Market
With the price of bitcoin surging to a yearly high this week, the South Korean government has held an emergency meeting over the risk of losses for investors.
Noh Hyeong-ouk, minister for the Office for Government Policy Coordination, announced the inter-agency meeting in a government statement earlier on Tuesday, saying participants included Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Ministry of Justice and the nation’s top financial watchdog, the Financial Supervisory Commission.
“Since virtual currencies are not legal currencies and nobody guarantees their value, the price fluctuates drastically due to illegal acts, speculative demand, and changes in the domestic and foreign regulatory environment,” he said. “It is necessary to make a careful decision on a series of actions.”
The government plans to “closely monitor the market situation in the future and actively respond to the risk of investor damage,” according to the statement.
In particular, illicit activities such as fraud and “multi-level illegal activities” based on the rise of crypto market prices “will be strictly controlled through surveillance and the financial authorities,” the minister said
He further called for a bill to amend the Specific Financial Information Act in order to prevent money laundering, currently under review in the South Korean National Assembly, to be passed “as soon as possible.”
韩国政府召开加密投资者损失风险紧急会议
随着比特币价格飙升至2019年度高点，再次引起了韩国政府对投资风险的关注，他们最近召集多个金融监管部门召开了投资者损失风险紧急会议，旨在进一步保护加密货币投资人。
根据韩国政府政策协调办公室部长Noh Hyeong-ouk本周二（5月28日）发布的政府声明显示，韩国政府已经要求韩国经济和财政部、司法部、以及该国最高金融监管机构——韩国金融机构监督委员会参加这次设计加密货币风险的跨部门会议，他说道：
“由于虚拟货币是合法货币，且没有人保证其价值，因此价格会因为非法行动、投机性需求、以及国内外监管环境的变化而大幅波动。所以，韩国政府有必要实施一系列行动，确保投资人在交易加密货币的时候谨慎地做出决定。”
Noh Hyeong-ouk在上述声明中还提到，韩国政府将会密切关注未来的加密货币市场形势，同时还会积极应对投资者可能遭受的潜在风险。他表示，韩国政府会特别关注基于加密市场价格上涨的欺诈和多层次融资等非法活动，并且会通过监督和金融当局对这些活动进行严格控制。
此外，Noh Hyeong-ouk还透露他会进一步要求政府修改《具体财务信息法案》（Specific Financial Information Act），同时敦促尽快完成立法，以防止目前日益增多的加密货币洗钱活动，该法案正在韩国国民议会审查中。
