In 2022, the citizens of South Korea transacted $4.3 billion (5.6 trillion Korean won) through 'illegal' crypto exchanges, according to local sources. The country’s government has been especially attentive toward such money movement amid the tightening regime of licensing. 

On March 7, the local media published the numbers the Korea Customs Service provided. According to Customs, the overall amount of funds caught in economic crimes increased significantly from 3.2 trillion won in 2021 to 8.2 trillion won ($6.2 billion) in the last year.

Crypto transactions made up almost 70% of all the illicit money traffic captured by the officers. However, the total amount of intercepted digital assets ($4.3 billion) accrues for only 15 transactions.

(By DAVID ATTLEE)