South Korea

Interpol fugitive Kwon Do-hyung flew to the Republic of Serbia last month, South Korean prosecutors told Forkast, confirming local media reports.

Wemade, a S.Korean blockchain game maker, announced that it will buyback and burn US$10 million worth of its WEMIX token to stabilize its value.

The South Korean blockchain game maker’s WEMIX cryptocurrency will be removed from the country’s four major cryptocurrency exchanges that collectively account for more than 95% of the country’s crypto trading volume.

A Seoul court has dismissed the injunction filed by Wemade Co. Ltd. to stop four local digital asset exchanges from delisting WEMIX cryptocurrency

The Bank of Korea (BOK) claimed it needs the authority to monitor and supervise stablecoins, according to the South Korean central bank’s report published on Monday.

The majority (58.3%) of South Koreans with assets of 1 billion Korean won (US$760,000) said they don’t plan to invest in cryptocurrencies.

Wemade Co. Ltd. said its in talks to have Binance Institutional Services take custody of its native cryptocurrency, WEMIX.

Following a hearing on Friday, the court is expected to finalize its decision on an injunction Wemade filed against four exchanges.

Daesung’s venture capital subsidiary recently established a fund worth 110 billion Korean won (US$84.5 million) for expanding investments into metaverse startups.

Shinhan has opened a metaverse to provide financial and non-financial services, claiming to be the first bank in the country to provide such a platform.

A court in South Korea will review if prosecutors are allowed to arrest and bring Terraform cofounder Daniel Shin and seven others into custody, for charges including fraud.

The blockchain game maker fights delisting of its symbolic WEMIX crypto token.

South Korea’s science ministry released a guideline of core ethical principles for metaverse application participants.

Companies based in the U.S. and South Korea have filed for more than 75% of patent applications related to the metaverse, VR and AR.

The delisting poses a great obstacle to the game maker’s growing blockchain empire, while Wemade’s CEO blames the crypto exchange

While the crypto industry grapples with the definition of blockchain-based digital tokens, South Korea wants to nail down the terminology.

South Korea’s telecommunications giant SK Telecom (SKT) is launching its Ifland metaverse in 49 countries in North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

South Korea’s FSC is considering a requirement that crypto exchanges offset investor losses for the sudden suspension of withdrawal services.

S.Korean authorities are looking into self-issued cryptocurrencies that may exist within local exchanges following FTX.com’s FTT-led liquidity crisis.

South Korea, Singapore and Japan were the biggest users of FTX.com based on the number of monthly unique visitors from January to October 2022

Terra cofounder Daniel Shin reportedly told S.Korean prosecutors during an investigation on Thursday that he did not sell LUNA at a high point.

S.Korean crypto exchange GOPAX halted withdrawal of principal and interest payments in its DeFi service which brokers products from Genesis.

Korbit, one of South Korea’s five fully licensed crypto exchanges, announced Wednesday that it will reveal its full list of crypto reserves.

Daniel Shin’s Chai Corporation, which partnered with Terraform Labs in 2019, is accused of violating capital market rules in past dealings with Terra.

KakaoBank, one of South Korea’s online-only banks with nearly 20 million users, said it will start providing accounts for users of Coinone exchange in November.

Binance is preparing to operate in South Korea’s crypto market, said CEO Changpeng Zhao at the Web Summit 2022 held in Lisbon.

NEAR Foundation is establishing a Web3 hub in South Korea to expand its allegiance with blockchain projects in Korea and Asia.

Naver Z Corp. announced its partnership with INHOPE to protect youth from sexual abuse and exploitation on the virtual platform.

The country looks to pass an initial bill that focuses on protecting digital asset investors and preventing unfair trade acts, ahead of wider legislation.

South Korea-based blockchain game developer Wemade is working on a fix for WEMIX after four major crypto exchanges in the country added the cryptocurrency to an “investment warning” list for inaccurately reporting circulation numbers.

NFTs and gaming – could it be the future of Web3?

The use of blockchain technology in finance will have an impact similar to that of YouTube on the media industry, said Lee Jun-haeng, CEO of South Korea-based blockchain company Streami.

Busan, S. Korea’s designated blockchain city, plans to make itself a global center for the technology. Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, plans to help.

Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao believes education is key to a wider, safer adoption of blockchain technology.

The future of the burgeoning Web3 sector will be gaming and non-fungible tokens, said Eric Anziani of global digital asset exchange Crypto.com.

A stablecoin that is not stable is an ‘oxymoron,’ said Henry Chang, CEO of South Korea-based blockchain game developer Wemade.

As a leading financial institution of South Korea, Shinhan is gearing up for business expansion into crypto — while a local ban remains on the books.

South Korea’s Busan signs agreements global cryptocurrency exchanges Crypto.com and Gate.io to grow the city’s blockchain ecosystem.

WEMADE, a South Korean blockchain game developer, recently launched its stablecoin, WEMIX$, for growing its blockchain ecosystem, which houses NFTs and DeFi.

South Korean police raided local software company Hancom and home of chairman Kim Sang-cheol on Thursday amid speculation that Kim created a slush fund using crypto token Arowana, according to local media reports.

South Korea is mulling the uploading of headshots of sex offenders rendered on the three-dimensional metaverse, to help the public identify offenders, said Minister of Gender Equality and Family Kim Hyun-sook on Tuesday in a local radio interview. See related article: S.Korea’s science ministry announces ethical principles for the metaverse Fast facts Kim mentioned the […]

Kwon Do-hyung, the cofounder and chief executive officer (CEO) of Terraform Labs Pte. Ltd., also known as Do Kwon, left Singapore last month and landed in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, South Korean prosecutors confirmed with Forkast.

Top blockchain and crypto news: Mark Zuckerberg’s empty metaverse. South Korea to roll out blockchain IDs. Macau bets on digital money.

Kwon has been issued with an Interpol “red notice” requesting his extradition on charges brought by South Korea related to the implosion of the Terra Luna cryptocurrency project he founded

South Korea’s Supreme Prosecutors’ Office is looking to hunt down illegal crypto funds by purchasing a software program that tracks down crypto transactions and sources, a local media outlet reported Friday. See related article: DPRK hackers sneak US$52 mln in crypto into S.Korean exchanges: Chainalysis Fast facts The tracking program is expected to be used […]

South Korean media has reported that local crypto exchanges may become a “playground” for North Korean hackers.

The National Assembly wanted to get to the bottom of the Terra-LUNA collapse on Thursday. At the end of a long and speech-filled day, lawmakers left empty-handed.

Yoo (full name was not revealed), the head of general affairs at Terraform Labs Pte. Ltd. and close associate of unlocated chief executive officer (CEO) Kwon Do-hyung, or Do Kwon, has been released from custody since being arrested Thursday as part of an ongoing investigation into Terra-LUNA. Yoo is not contending his alleged association with […]

Validators of Terra blockchain had no knowledge of the US$60 billion collapse of Terra-LUNA prior to the crash, said South Korean blockchain infrastructure provider DSRV Labs chief Kim Ji-yun. in response to the National Assembly’s parliamentary audit on the Financial Services Commission on Thursday. See related article: Terra CEO Do Kwon to lose his passport […]

South Korean prosecutors have arrested a Terraform Labs employee, in their first arrest under the investigation of the Terra-LUNA collapse. A bench warrant, which allows law enforcement to take suspects into custody, was issued on Wednesday for the arrested employee. See related article: Terra CEO Do Kwon to lose his passport within a month  Fast […]

South Korean ruling party lawmaker Yoon Sang-hyun asserted that the country needs to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the Terra-LUNA collapse, which affected over 280,000 people locally, in comments at the National Assembly’s parliamentary audit on the Financial Services Commission (FSC), South Korea’s top financial regulator. See related article: South Korea’s investigation of Do […]

Kim Joo-hyun, the chairman of South Korea’s top financial regulator, the Financial Services Commission (FSC), said on Thursday the agency will promote blockchain technology and user protections in the crypto market. See related article: South Korea’s all-encompassing crypto law is coming — what we know so far Fast facts “In cooperation with the National Assembly, […]

South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs posted a notice on its website on Wednesday saying the passport belonging to Terraform Labs Pte. Ltd. chief Kwon Do-Hyung, also known as Do Kwon, will be nullified in four weeks if Kwon does not return his passport. See related article: South Korea’s investigation of Do Kwon ‘unfair’: Terraform […]

Terraform Labs Pte. Ltd. cofounder Daniel Shin, or Shin Hyun-sung, has submitted a statement to South Korea’s National Assembly with reasons not to appear before lawmakers on Thursday as a witness in the Terra-LUNA meltdown, according to local news agency News1. See related article: Terraform cofounder Daniel Shin to testify in South Korean parliament Fast […]

Dunamu Inc., the mother company of South Korea’s largest crypto exchange Upbit, and Hybe Co., Ltd., the music agency behind K-pop mega group BTS, launched a K-pop digital collectible platform on Tuesday via their Los Angeles-based joint venture, LEVVELS Inc. See related article: Dunamu looks to K-pop group BTS NFTs to beat ‘Crypto Winter’ Fast […]

South Korea’s National Assembly intends to get to the bottom of the Terra-LUNA debacle in its next audit in October along with several other issues surrounding the local crypto industry.

Busan, South Korea’s second-largest city, is opening a virtual space on Naver Z’s Zepeto metaverse at 12 p.m. on Friday, Korea time, to promote the city in efforts to host the World Expo in 2030. See related article: South Korea’s Busan city wants to be blockchain central. Did everyone get the memo? Fast facts The […]

Terraform Labs Pte. Ltd., the firm behind the collapse of the Terra-LUNA stablecoin project said South Korean prosecutors’ measures in pursuing its chief executive officer Do Kwon violate his basic rights under Korean law.

The man behind Terra-LUNA contradicts the basis of the new action South Korean authorities took to corner and locate him.

Upbit, South Korea’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, is using fees it collected from Luna Classic (LUNC) transactions to establish a crypto monitoring center in a gesture to help compensate for the losses from the Terra-LUNA debacle, according to local media reports. See related article: Interpol issues red notice for Do Kwon, says South Korean prosecutor Fast […]

South Korea’s crypto market was worth 23 trillion won (about US$16.1 billion) in the first half of 2022, down 58% from 55.2 trillion won in the six-month period at the end of last year, according to data from the Financial Intelligence Unit (KoFIU). See related article: South Korea seizes US$184 mln in crypto towards unpaid […]

Changwon is the latest addition to South Korea’s growing list of cities seeking a presence in the metaverse, signaling the country’s adoption of Web3.

South Korea is pursuing different options to get custody of Do Kwon as the Terraform Labs CEO faces charges for his alleged involvement in the multibillion collapse of the Terra-LUNA stablecoin project.

The coastal city was a prominent manufacturer of footwear, fabric and other light industries during the 1970s and 80s, and then grew into one of the world’s biggest container ports. Now it’s trying to reinvent itself in the digital world of blockchain.

Dunamu Inc., the mother company of South Korea’s largest crypto exchange Upbit, will focus its future endeavors on Levvels, its Los Angeles-based non-fungible token (NFT) joint venture with Hybe Co., Ltd., the entertainment agency behind K-pop group BTS. See related article: Dunamu’s NFT venture with BTS’s HYBE to launch services later this year Fast facts […]

Cryptocurrency assets seized from alleged tax delinquents in South Korea in 2021 and 2022 amounted to nearly 260 billion Korean won (US$184.3 million), according to local media reports. See related article: South Korea’s taxman keeps circling crypto – airdrops look to be the next target Fast facts The highest amount of crypto seized from a […]

South Korea’s top financial watchdog Monday said it is difficult for the country to establish laws overseeing the cryptocurrency industry in the country ahead of a common global regulatory framework as cross-border enforcement would be a key determinant of effectiveness.

South Korea’s official media regulation agency met with Andy O’Connell, vice president of product policy and strategy of Meta Platforms, Inc. on Monday to discuss ways to boost user protection on the metaverse. See related article: South Korea will not rule the metaverse with game laws, science ministry says Fast facts Ahn Hyoung-hwan, the vice […]

South Korean prosecutors are in the process of requesting Interpol to issue a red notice for Terraform Labs Pte. Ltd. Chief Executive Officer Kwon Do-hyung, also known as Do Kwon, according to media reports.  See related article: Terra CEO Do Kwon faces ‘illegal alien’ status in Singapore as Seoul cancels passport Fast facts An Interpol […]

Welcome to The Daily Forkast – September 16, 2022 – presented by Joel Flynn. Coming up on today’s show: Could Busan be the next crypto hub? Will help from Binance and FTX finally establish South Korea’s second largest city as the crypto haven it’s trying to be? We’ll have more on those stories — and […]

A member of the prosecuting team tells Forkast additional charges are likely to be leveled against Terraform Labs Chief Executive Officer Do Kwon following this week’s issuance of an arrest warrant for violating the country’s Capital Markets Act.

Prosecutors investigating the man behind the US$37 billion wipeout of the Terra-LUNA cryptocurrency project are raising the stakes to get him back to South Korea.