SEOUL: The financial regulator said Wednesday that toughened rules and the punishment of illegal transactions involving virtual assets will be implemented this week. The new law, the Virtual Asset Users Protection Act, requires virtual asset exchanges to report illegal transactions to the financial regulator, and a life-sentence can be sought against unlawful gains exceeding 5 billion won, according to the Financial Services Commission (FSC). The regulator also can impose fines or push for legal punishments following the conclusion of an investigation by legal authorities. Suspicious transactions involving virtual assets spiked nearly 49 percent on-year to over 16,000 cases in 2023, the FSC said earlier. Source: Yonhap News Agency