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South Korean lawmakers are pushing for stricter regulation of digital assets following a horrific digital asset murder case.
According to a May 18 Bloomberg report, a Korean woman was abducted on March 29 and then killed in a dispute believed to have arisen from a dispute over crypto-related losses, adding to a string of digital asset scandals including Terra Do Kwon. The collapse of the monetary ecosystem in May last year.
The recent murder case has reportedly forced lawmakers to urgently expedite passage of the country’s first stand-alone cryptocurrency bill, which could be passed by a parliamentary vote later this month.
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“Finally, both sides have agreed that we need to pass the law as soon as possible,” said Baek Hyoryun, an MP from the opposition Democratic Party of Korea.
“There were too many problems, so it was necessary to focus on one thing first – protecting investors – in order to move on,” she added.
The new proposed bill is called the Virtual Asset User Protection Act, which combines a total of 19 different cryptocurrency-related bills into one single bill.
Related: South Korean authorities raid Upbit and Bithumb cryptocurrency exchanges after political scandal
According to a draft bill seen by Bloomberg, the law sets out clear legal definitions of virtual assets and provides for penalties for offenses such as insider trading and market manipulation. In addition, the new bill will give the country’s Financial Services Commission the power to oversee crypto companies and hold assets.
The law will also require digital asset companies to have insurance to protect themselves from hacks, as well as stricter rules on reserve funds and account maintenance. These rules apply to cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, while existing capital markets law will apply to tokens that the government considers to be securities.