SEOUL, The financial regulator announced plans Wednesday to introduce new rules on the investigation and punishment of illegal transactions involving virtual assets. The new rules will be implemented in tandem with the new Virtual Asset Users Protection Act, set to be enacted July 19, according to the Financial Services Commission (FSC). "Once the Virtual Asset Users Protection Act is enacted, a new system will be implemented where virtual currency exchanges will continuously monitor suspicious transactions and the Financial Services Commission will impose fines or push for legal punishments following the conclusion of an investigation by legal authorities," the FSC said of the proposed provisions for the investigation of suspicious transactions of virtual assets. The new provisions stipulate detailed procedures and methods for each stage of inspection, investigation and actions, it added. Suspicious transactions involving virtual assets spiked nearly 49 percent on-year to over 16,000 cases in 2023, the FSC said earlier. Under the new provisions, the FSC will impose fines depending on the outcome of prosecution investigations but will also be allowed to take such actions before the conclusion of an investigation should there be consent from the chief prosecutor to that end or one year has passed since the start of the investigation, according to the FSC. Source: Yonhap News Agency