Korea’s Crypto Accountability Hole Widens as Dunamu, Bithumb Skip Third Nationwide Audit – KoreaTechDesk

Korea’s long-running wrestle to manage its fast-growing crypto market resurfaced throughout this yr’s parliamentary audit, as high exchanges Dunamu and Bithumb as soon as once more prevented direct scrutiny. Their absence from the nationwide audit — the third in as a few years — highlights an everlasting accountability hole between Korea’s monetary authorities and the businesses shaping its digital asset financial system.

Crypto Executives Absent Once more in 2025 Nationwide Audit

The Nationwide Meeting’s Political Affairs Committee (PAC) has withdrawn Dunamu CEO Oh Kyung-seok from its witness record for the Monetary Companies Fee (FSC) and the Monetary Supervisory Service (FSS) audit scheduled for October 20, confirming that no main digital asset executives will seem earlier than lawmakers this yr.

This marks the third consecutive yr wherein Korea’s largest exchanges — Dunamu (operator of Upbit) and Bithumb — have prevented formal questioning by the committee.

The choice adopted inside negotiations between ruling and opposition events. Lawmakers initially deliberate to query Oh Kyung-seok on a number of points, together with anti-money laundering (AML) violations, suspicious token listings, and the investor belief hole brought on by speedy itemizing and delisting practices. Nonetheless, his witness standing was rescinded after each trade firms have been excluded on grounds of procedural equity.

Oh Kyung-seok as an alternative appeared briefly earlier than the Well being and Welfare Committee as a reference witness concerning Dunamu’s acquisition of the medical platform Medistaff, bypassing the crypto coverage session solely.

Regulatory and Authorized Context: FIU Dispute and AML Violations

Earlier this yr, the Monetary Intelligence Unit (FIU) underneath Korea’s Monetary Companies Fee (FSC) imposed a partial enterprise suspension on Dunamu, citing violations of AML obligations underneath the Particular Monetary Data Act.

The regulator accused Dunamu of conducting transactions with unregistered entities and failing to correctly confirm buyer identities.

In response, Dunamu filed an administrative lawsuit looking for to overturn the choice, arguing that its compliance measures adopted requirements set by the Digital Asset eXchange Alliance (DAXA) — an trade self-regulation physique.

Observers had anticipated this ongoing dispute to turn into a focus of the 2025 audit, however with the absence of Oh Kyung-seok, the difficulty is prone to obtain restricted parliamentary dialogue.

A Nationwide Meeting official privately famous that “the momentum to summon Dunamu weakened as soon as Bithumb was excluded,” underscoring the political sensitivity surrounding unequal remedy of trade gamers.

Persistent Oversight Hole in Korea’s Digital Asset Market

The continued absence of crypto executives displays a deeper problem in Korea’s monetary oversight framework. Whereas the Monetary Companies Fee and Monetary Supervisory Service face annual questioning, digital asset platforms stay exterior constant legislative scrutiny, regardless of dealing with billions in retail and institutional transactions.

The Political Affairs Committee final summoned crypto figures in 2022, together with former Dunamu CEO Lee Seok-woo and Hashed CEO Kim Search engine marketing-jun, amid the Terra–Luna collapse.

Since then, no main trade has appeared in parliamentary proceedings, at the same time as new coverage debates emerge round stablecoin issuance, trade accountability, and cross-border compliance.

This oversight vacuum has fueled criticism that Korea’s regulatory system stays reactive — counting on administrative penalties slightly than steady governance — at a time when world counterparts like Japan and Singapore are institutionalizing crypto supervision via licensing, transparency audits, and public accountability mechanisms.

Repeated Nationwide Audit Absence: Credibility, Governance, and World Notion

For Korea’s digital asset trade, the repeated absence of trade leaders from the nationwide audit raises questions on regulatory maturity and market transparency.

Upbit and Bithumb collectively account for greater than 90% of home buying and selling quantity, giving them disproportionate affect over liquidity, itemizing requirements, and investor sentiment.

Their ongoing disputes with the FIU and reluctance to face parliamentary questioning reinforce issues amongst worldwide buyers about governance opacity and coverage inconsistency in Korea’s crypto panorama.

This might impression the nation’s efforts to place itself as a regional fintech and blockchain innovation hub, notably amid rising competitors from jurisdictions emphasizing regulatory readability and accountability.

Towards Actual Accountability in Digital Finance

Korea’s 2025 Nationwide Audit underscores a structural pressure inside its innovation financial system: the federal government seeks to broaden fintech and blockchain competitiveness but lacks constant mechanisms to implement transparency amongst its largest gamers.

As Korea prepares to institutionalize a Digital Asset Fundamental Act, policymakers face a important take a look at — whether or not legislative oversight can lastly catch as much as trade energy.

Till trade leaders interact overtly with governance processes, the hole between regulation and accountability will stay Korea’s most seen weak spot within the world digital finance enviornment.

– Keep Forward in Korea’s Startup Scene –
Get real-time insights, funding updates, and coverage shifts shaping Korea’s innovation ecosystem.
➡️ Comply with KoreaTechDesk on LinkedIn, X (Twitter), Threads, Bluesky, Telegram, Fb, and WhatsApp Channel.