Tony Chung

Head of BD of @with_blockmedia
Korean Crypto Institution, Regulation

[Tony Chung @jayc_BM]

Korean police are actively investigating domestic @Polymarket users for illegal gambling. Gangwon Provincial Police received the case from the National Police Agency — reportedly the first investigation of Korean Polymarket users ever. Targets are spread nationwide.

Under Korean law, any betting outside of the government-run sports lottery (capped at ₩100K per bet) is illegal. Polymarket users could face fines up to ₩10M under criminal gambling statutes. A lawyer representing some of the investigated users confirmed the gambling elements appear to be met — but noted there’s no precedent for sentencing since nobody has been convicted for this before.

The access issue is notable. Polymarket isn’t blocked in Korea — no IP workaround needed, and the broadcast regulator said they never reviewed it because no complaints had been filed. Korean users were betting USDC directly with no restrictions from Polymarket’s side either.

The trigger was likely the June 3 local elections, which appeared as a Polymarket market and drew hundreds of billions of won in bets from Korean users.

[Tony Chung @jayc_BM]

@0xHanMoon plz comeback

[Tony Chung @jayc_BM]

Korean crypto is getting left behind by the stock market rally. KOSPI daily trading volume hit ₩118.3T (~$85B) on May 29. The five major Korean crypto exchanges combined did ₩2.7T (~$2B) the same day. Crypto is now just 2% of KOSPI volume.

[Tony Chung @jayc_BM]

Korea's FIU is dropping the proposed rule that would have required VASPs to file suspicious transaction reports on any crypto transfer of ₩10M (~$7,200) or more to overseas platforms or unhosted wallets. Industry pushed back hard, DAXA argued it would cause repeated KYC checks on every large transfer, creating delays and operational overload that made the rule unworkable in practice.

The travel rule expansion is still going ahead though. Currently applies to transfers above ₩1M (~$720). The new rule brings that threshold down to cover sub-₩1M transfers as well, so broader coverage, just without the blanket STR reporting requirement on top.

[Tony Chung @jayc_BM]

Korea’s National Pension Service just revised its domestic equity target allocation from 14.9% to 20.8%, but the more interesting story is how they got there.

Internal review documents show three options were on the table. The 14.9% target with a 13.9% SSA band. A 20.8% target with 8% SSA. A 23.8% target with 5% SSA.

They chose the middle one. The problem is the fund’s actual domestic equity exposure is already sitting at 28-29%. So they didn’t set a new strategic target and work toward it, they reverse-engineered a number to retroactively legitimize where they already are.

The SSA band itself was redacted from the public disclosure. The most likely reason: if the market figures out the ceiling, it either front-runs the selling or the rally ends early. Keeping it quiet buys time. For whom is a separate question.

The structural problem is obvious. Foreign investors have been steadily taking profits and reducing exposure. NPS is now functionally blocked from selling, constrained by its own revised target. Retail investors end up absorbing the foreign outflows. It’s a pressure valve with no exit.

The longer-term concern is what happens when there’s an actual crisis. NPS exists to manage long-term stability and risk. Loading up on domestic equity concentration now, with a politically-appointed chairman who came back from the previous administration’s orbit and staff

[Tony Chung @jayc_BM]

Korea’s FSC just officially signaled the end of the “financial-crypto separation” rule that’s been in place since 2017. A senior FSC official said they will “no longer block” the convergence of finance and crypto, and explicitly mentioned the global super app race as something they’re keeping in mind.

The context: Hana Bank put $730M into Dunamu. Hanwha bumped its stake in Dunamu to 9.84%. Samsung Group(Samsung Securities, SDS, and Card) just dropped $430M+ for a 4% Dunamu stake. Mirae Asset is acquiring Korbit. None of this was happening in a vacuum.

The old rule was never actual law, it was administrative guidance from 2017, born out of Bitcoin volatility, exchange hacks, and money laundering fears. Nine years later, with the US approving spot ETFs, JP Morgan building on-chain infrastructure, Coinbase going for an “Everything Exchange,” and Charles Schwab launching spot crypto trading, Korea decided it can’t sit this one out.

The super app framing is the interesting part. “One app, one click” was how the FSC official described where things are heading. That’s not just about letting banks buy exchange stakes, that’s about what Korean finance looks like in five years.

[Tony Chung @jayc_BM]

Samsung Securities, Samsung SDS & Samsung Card are jointly acquiring a 4% stake in Dunamu (Upbit) for ~$440M — buying directly from Kakao affiliates.

[Tony Chung @jayc_BM]

@0xHanMoon getting worse everyday

[Tony Chung @jayc_BM]

Korea just passed a foreign exchange law amendment requiring VASPs that handle cross-border digital asset transfers to register with the Ministry of Economy and Finance and report all transaction data to the Bank of Korea's FX network. That data gets shared across NTS, Customs, FSS, and FIU.

Crypto-based remittances and FX regulation workarounds have been growing fast enough that the government decided the monitoring gap needed closing. Law passed the National Assembly on May 7, gets formally promulgated June 2, takes effect six months after that.

Non-registration or failure to report carries penalties on par with existing foreign exchange institutions. The infrastructure for cross-border crypto compliance in Korea just got significantly more serious.

[Tony Chung @jayc_BM]

@CENTWT 헉 댓글 감사드립니다

[Tony Chung @jayc_BM]

The crypto tax abolition petition just cleared 50,000 signatures in under a week, triggering a mandatory parliamentary committee review. Results have to be reported to the full assembly within 90 days.

PPP floor leader Song Eon-seok — who already sponsored the abolition bill back in March — is now pushing to make it the first bill passed in the second half of this legislative session.

The argument: Korea scrapped the financial investment income tax but kept crypto taxes, which is inconsistent. Add overseas exchange enforcement problems and foreign investor cost-basis calculation issues, and the practical case for taxing is weak anyway.

Government says it's still proceeding with the 2027 implementation. But with 50k signatures, a formal bill already on the table, and bipartisan pressure building, this is no longer just noise.

[BLOCKMEDIA(블록미디어) @with_blockmedia]

South Korea Probes @Polymarket for Gambling Law Violations

Korea Communications Standards Commission has launched a regulatory review into Polymarket over potential illegal gambling violations. Prompted by recent complaints, the commission is closely examining the platform's betting mechanisms while considering international regulatory precedents. Although prediction markets differ from traditional gambling sites, Polymarket's active Korean language support could subject it to strict local regulations, potentially leading to a nationwide access block if deemed an illegal speculative platform.

[Tony Chung @jayc_BM]

Korea's broadcast and media regulator is reviewing @Polymarket for potential gambling law violations after receiving a complaint. The body handles illegal online content including gambling, and can order access blocks if a violation is confirmed.

[Tony Chung @jayc_BM]

Korea's FSC is opening up domestic ETFs and ETNs to foreign retail investors. Until now, overseas individuals could trade Korean stocks directly but were blocked from ETF/ETN products.

That changes. FSC will issue no-action letters to brokerages ready to offer the products before the formal rule change goes through.

Foreign retail trading volume in Korean stocks already hit $4.2B in the three weeks between April 26 and May 15. The demand is clearly there, the infrastructure just wasn't keeping up.

FSC is also hosting "Korea Premium Week" in September , a global investor IR event aimed at pulling more foreign capital into Korean markets.

[Tony Chung @jayc_BM]

Fun Facts about KOSPI

KOSPI margin lending is up 60% vs 6 months ago, but market cap grew faster, so the margin-to-cap ratio actually declined. The leverage is there, but the market absorbed it.

Circuit breakers are the more interesting number. KOSPI triggered 15 buy/sell sidecar halts in the last 3 months, averaging 5 per month. Full year 2024 saw 2. Full year 2025 saw 3. That's 20-30x the historical monthly average. Volatility is not a vibe, it's in the data.

And Samsung + SK Hynix now represent 50% of total KOSPI market cap.

[Tony Chung @jayc_BM]

Hanwha Investment Securities is acquiring a 9.84% stake in Dunamu for ₩597.8B (~$430M), making it the single largest institutional shareholder of Upbit's parent company. Deal closes June 15.