Seoul: South Korea and the United States have agreed to enhance cooperation to combat money laundering activities in the Asia-Pacific region, Seoul's financial regulator announced.

According to Yonhap News Agency, earlier this week, Lee Hyung-ju, commissioner of the Korea Financial Intelligence Unit (KoFIU), met with Andrea Gacki, director of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), a bureau of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, in Washington. The Financial Services Commission (FSC) reported this development. The KoFIU operates under the FSC, which is responsible for countering money laundering, financing of terrorism, and other illegal financial activities.

During the meeting, Lee emphasized the need for both countries to strengthen transnational cooperation in combating money laundering in the Asia-Pacific region, citing online scams in certain Southeast Asian countries that involve Korean nationals. The regulator highlighted the importance of implementing anti-money laundering efforts in collaboration with the private sector to ensure early detection of such activities.

In response, Gacki acknowledged South Korea as an important strategic partner and agreed to enhance information exchanges between the two agencies to address various forms of unlawful activities, as noted by the FSC.