SEOUL, July 22 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's financial regulator said on Thursday that foreign cryptocurrency exchanges targeting South Korean people are required to register business with the country's anti-money laundering body by Sept. 24 under the revised law.

The Financial Services Commission (FSC) said in a statement that all the virtual asset service providers (VASPs) are required to register with the Korea Financial Intelligence Unit (KoFIU) by Sept. 24 as the act on reporting and using specified financial transaction information went into effect on March 25 with a six-month grace period.

The KoFIU already sent a notice to 27 foreign VASPs to make sure of their obligation to register as the law equally applies to domestic and foreign VASPs, according to the FSC.

If foreign VASPs fail to register with the KoFIU, they shall cease business operations targeting South Korean people from Sept. 25.

If they continue to operate business without registration, they will be subject to up to five years of imprisonment or a maximum fine of 50 million won (about 43,500 U.S. dollars).

The FSC said the KoFIU will notify the unregistered foreign VASPs of their illegal activities beyond the Sept. 24 deadline and take actions such as blocking access to their websites.

It noted that the KoFIU will also bring charges against the unregistered foreign VASPs with the investigative authorities and actively seek other tools such as close cooperation with foreign FIUs and international judicial mutual assistance in criminal matters. Enditem

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