#South Korea Cracks Down on Crypto "Pump and Dump" Scheme#

The Financial Services Commission (FSC) of Korea recently filed a lawsuit against a cryptocurrency “pump and dump” case under the Virtual Asset User Protection Act, marking the first unfair trading case since the law’s implementation. In this case, the suspect manipulated the market by using multiple buy orders to inflate the price of a certain cryptocurrency and then sold off a large amount of assets previously purchased, causing drastic fluctuations in the target asset price in just 10 minutes and illegally profiting hundreds of millions of Korean won. This case highlights the Korean government’s active efforts to combat unfair trading practices in the cryptocurrency market and underscores the role of the Virtual Asset User Protection Act in upholding market fairness and protecting investor interests. The law came into effect in July 2024 and requires local Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) to report unusual transactions and investigate unfair trading patterns. The handling of this case also provides a reference for other countries and regions in regulating the cryptocurrency market, demonstrating that combating unfair trading practices such as “pump and dump” is an important measure for maintaining the healthy development of the market.