South Korean regulators are tightening oversight of the crypto market, adopting faster and more coordinated methods to detect suspicious trading amid renewed volatility.
The shift was highlighted after the Financial Supervisory Service said it was reviewing sharp price swings in the ZKsync token on Upbit following extreme volatility during a system maintenance window, according to The Korea Economic Daily.
The watchdog said it is analysing trading data and may escalate the review into a formal investigation depending on its findings.
Regulators described the case as reflecting a broader move away from treating incidents in isolation toward strengthening surveillance systems and reinforcing expectations for exchanges seen as critical market infrastructure.
This push has included expanding the FSS’s use of artificial intelligence to automatically detect potential market manipulation across different time frames, reducing reliance on manual investigations.
Authorities have also signalled earlier intervention, with the Financial Services Commission weighing pre-emptive fund freezes to prevent laundering linked to active probes.
The tougher stance is now extending to enforcement, after the Seoul Southern District Court issued its first prison sentence under the Virtual Asset User Protection Act, jailing a crypto executive for market manipulation involving a token listed on Bithumb.