SEOUL, The head of South Korea’s financial regulator called for “balanced” efforts to both promote and oversee virtual asset transactions Tuesday.

Kim Joo-hyun, chief of the Financial Services Commission (FSC), made the call as the Cabinet passed an enforcement ordinance for the Act on the Protection of Virtual Asset Users, set to take effect July 19.

“There exist both possibilities and risks in virtual assets and the blockchain technology sector,” Kim said in a meeting with the heads of five major virtual asset service providers.

“A balanced approach where we allow the potential of the new technology to flourish while protecting its users through necessary regulations and by reducing risks is important,” he added.

The FSC chief stressed that the government will sternly deal with any unfair business practices to protect investors, calling on virtual asset exchanges to establish “transparent trade rules” and make their utmost efforts to monitor and report any irregularities.

“The government, too, will wo
rk to establish a clear and reasonable regulation system in line with global trends,” he told the meeting.

With the scheduled implementation of the virtual asset user protection law, the Cabinet approved the establishment of a new “digital financial policy bureau” at the FSC last week.

The bureau, according to the financial regulator, will work to maintain and further improve regulations related to virtual assets and also to expose and deal with unfair transactions of virtual assets.

Source: Yonhap News Agency