South Korea may not implement the so-called “travel rule” right away.
An official from the Korea Financial Intelligence Unit told Coindesk Korea last week that the agency needs to consider whether or not to include the travel rule in the executive ordinance of the revised Act on Reporting and Use of Specific Financial Transaction Information, which was recently passed by the national parliament.
The official noted that some countries are not including it, which would seem to indicate that South Korea, too, may not include it.
In establishing last year its anti-money laundering guidelines, the FAFT called on member countries to enforce the travel rule, which is to say, require cryptocurrency exchanges, wallets and other virtual asset service providers (VASPs) to provide to authorities customer information — including sender and recipient names, locations and account details — when conducting trades of USD 1,000 or higher.
This presents not only philosophical issues, but technical ones. Local VASPs are unequipped to comply with the travel rule and they’ve yet to find a perfect solution to it. So naturally, the rule has been a source of consternation.
The FIU will be holding a closed door discussion on Tuesday with industry participants to get their opinion on the executive ordinance. The agency has until March 25 of next year — when the revised act goes into effect — to craft the ordinance.
Also in the Korea blockchain space…
(By Edda Viktor, April 22, DailyHODL)
In a guest post, Asia-based “digital nomad” Edda Viktor looks at so-called “Blockchain 3.0” solutions that are “taking DLT development to the next level.” Included is ICON, about which he writes, “Based on the project’s strategy, ICON is one the few blockchain 3.0 solutions to have gained traction in Asia, particularly in South Korea where the project has a foothold in the country, leading Korea’s blockchain ecosystem in terms of securing several high-level partnerships with governments bodies and the private sector.”
(Market Screener, April 23)
South Korean travel unicorn Yanolja has linked up with blockchain-powered rewards platform MiL.k. From the press release: “An update to the Yanolja app in May will enable Yanolja Coin to be earned by loyal users, who can then utilize their coins within the MiL.k ecosystem. A series of promotions and rewards will be used to leverage the integration between South Korea’s leading OTA and the leading blockchain rewards platform.” We note that Yanolja is also a member of the MyID Alliance.
(By Ledger Insights, April 23)
LG software subsidiary LG CNS can now make contactless payments at the company cafeteria using community digital currency by way of facial recognition software. The company plans to expand the use of facial recognition payment systems to other stores and service areas. Apparently, LG has a facial recognition solution that recognizes you even if you’re wearing a mask, too.
