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Almost 60K Korean Crypto-Holding Households Owe $389M in Unpaid Social Insurance PremiumsThe National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) in South Korea is intensifying its efforts to collect overdue premiums. Many high-income individuals who can afford to pay premiums for social insurance, including health insurance, have been neglecting their dues.Photo by Hush Naidoo Jade Photography on UnsplashVirtual assets for seizureAccording to the documents submitted on October 18 by the NHIS to lawmaker Jung Choun-sook, a member of the National Assembly’s Health and Welfare Committee, the NHIS is actively identifying a range of assets, including copyrights and virtual assets, that can be seized from these individuals. The NHIS aims to recover overdue premiums through stringent measures such as confiscation and government auctions. This move is designed to deter high-income earners from neglecting their obligations, ensuring fairness for those who consistently pay their premiums.Almost 60,000 crypto-holding householdsThis year, the NHIS discovered that 59,513 households, despite owning virtual assets, had outstanding social insurance premiums amounting to KRW 525 billion ($389 million). The NHIS has initiated collection efforts. In 2021, the insurance agency identified 5,336 households with virtual assets that had unpaid social insurance premiums totaling KRW 62.2 billion. Of this, the NHIS successfully collected KRW 6.92 billion, representing 11.13% of the total arrears.On this matter, lawmaker Jung highlighted that the government should strive to bolster the NHIS’s financial health. She underscored the importance of identifying concealed income sources or assets, like cryptocurrency holdings, of premium defaulters to ensure the collection of their overdue premiums.

South Korea’s retail-heavy crypto market is losing momentum ahead of broader institutional access to trading. Data from the Financial Services Commission (FSC) and the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), cited by Financial News, shows that in the first half of 2025, Korean-won balances held at the country’s five licensed fiat-to-crypto exchanges sank 42% to 6.2 trillion won ($4.4 billion), signaling less dry powder waiting on the sidelines for trading. Only five platforms are permitted to support won-denominated trading, and the drop in parked cash underscores a broader cooling. By the end of June, the Korean crypto market cap stood at 95.1 trillion won ($67.5 billion), down 14% from six months earlier. The global market also contracted, but the decline was more modest at about 7% over the same period.Photo by Y K on UnsplashTrading slows but retail base expandsTrading activity eased as well. Average daily volumes across 25 domestic virtual asset service providers (VASPs) fell 12% to 6.4 trillion won ($4.5 billion) in the first half. Paradoxically, the number of market participants climbed 11% to 107.7 million across those platforms. Nearly all were individuals, as only 220 were institutions, reflecting long-standing restrictions on institutional won trading. That retail skew has consequences. Data submitted by the FSS to a lawmaker, cited by Digital Asset, reveals that the top 10% of users by trading volume accounted for roughly 90% of activity at the five fiat on-ramps. By exchange, the figures were Upbit (89.36%), Bithumb (97.97%), Coinone (97.54%), Korbit (97.52%), and Gopax (97.95%).  Market lawyers warn that this concentration heightens manipulation risk. Lee Seung-min of SEUM Law Firm said volatility may be more pronounced in tokens listed only on Korean venues, but added that deeper institutional participation could help reduce such volatility and support longer market cycles.  Regulators are inching in that direction. Earlier this year, authorities allowed universities and nonprofits to sell their crypto holdings. By year-end, the FSC plans to let about 3,500 publicly traded companies and professional investors, excluding financial institutions, open accounts at the licensed platforms for trading. Exchanges pour cash into promotionsWhile regulators are preparing to bring more institutional players into the fold, exchanges continue their long-running effort to draw in retail users. Another Digital Asset report noted that from 2023 through July 2025, promotional outlays by the five won-enabled platforms totaled 190.3 billion won ($135 million). Bithumb alone accounted for 180.3 billion won ($128 million), far outspending Upbit (9.4 billion won), Coinone (1.7 billion won), Korbit (1.6 billion won), and Gopax (100 million won). The gap suggests Bithumb, which ranks second in market share, has pursued a particularly aggressive approach to expand its customer base. Taken together, the numbers depict a subdued market, with less capital parked on exchanges and lighter trading while activity remains heavily concentrated among a small cohort of traders. Even so, the expanding base of individual accounts represents a bright spot, underscoring the market’s continued dependence on retail investors. If policymakers follow through on opening the door to a broader set of corporate and professional players later this year, Korea’s crypto landscape could shift from retail-driven fluctuations toward steadier, institution-supported flows. 

South Korea’s financial regulator outlined plans on Jan. 28 to transition crypto exchanges from a registration system to a licensing regime to boost capital market appeal, Financial News reported. Financial Services Commission (FSC) Chairman Lee Eok-won stated that the proposed licensing framework—part of the Digital Asset Basic Act—would grant exchanges ongoing authorization while assigning them broader responsibilities.Photo by Tara Winstead님 on PexelsRuling party plans Lunar New Year crypto bill filingThe FSC has recommended capping individual ownership stakes in exchanges at 15–20% to prevent ownership concentration, a view broadly supported by the ruling Democratic Party’s Digital Asset Task Force, according to Edaily. However, party officials noted that internal disagreements remain over whether to include these limits directly in the bill, which they aim to submit before the Lunar New Year holiday next month. Progress on the legislation faces hurdles regarding stablecoins. The Democratic Party has presented a mediation proposal, but the Bank of Korea and the FSC remain at odds. The central bank argues that stablecoin issuance rights should be restricted to consortia where banks hold a majority stake of at least 51%. The regulatory push coincides with a surge in crypto participation. Data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS)—cited by People Power Party lawmaker Lee Heon-seung and reported by the Asia Business Daily—shows the number of won-based traders rose about 70% over the past three years. Users on the five major exchanges (Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Gopax, and Korbit) reached 9.91 million last year, up from 5.82 million in 2023. Despite the growing user base, trading volumes have been volatile. Volumes surged to 2,411 trillion won ($1.8 trillion) in 2024 from 1,122 trillion won ($801.6 billion) in 2023, before easing to 2,140 trillion won ($1.6 trillion) last year amid a market slowdown. Tax rulings and crime cases test crypto oversightAs regulations tighten, courts are clarifying tax treatments. According to the news outlet Digital Asset, a court recently upheld the National Tax Service’s decision to tax digital assets received through promotional events. The court rejected a claimant’s request for an 80% tax deduction, dismissing the argument that the promotion was a competition determined by participant rankings. The ruling clarified that the giveaways did not meet the legal definition of a competition eligible for such tax benefits under the Income Tax Act. Authorities are also grappling with crypto-related crime. According to another Edaily report, the Gwangju District Prosecutors' Office has launched a probe into five investigators after 320 seized Bitcoin was stolen from a phishing site during a handover of duties in August. Prosecutors have denied internal collusion. Separately, MBC News reported that Seoul police are investigating two teenagers accused of luring a buyer to a face-to-face trade in Gangnam on Jan. 27 and fleeing with 28 million won ($21,000).