South Korea is preparing a dedicated division for cryptocurrency-related crime as part of a broader restructuring of its major crime investigation system. The new unit, called the Virtual Asset Joint Investigation Division, will be established inside the Seoul Metropolitan Serious Crimes Investigation Office, which is scheduled to begin operations on October 2.
The division will sit under the Financial Crimes Investigation Bureau and will bring together personnel from relevant government bodies, including the Financial Services Commission and the National Tax Service. It is set to assume responsibilities now handled by the Joint Investigation Unit for Virtual Asset Crimes at the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Office.
Crypto investigations move into new structure
The new division is being created within the Serious Crimes Investigation Office, a new organization that South Korea plans to launch in October. By placing a virtual asset crime team inside the Seoul office, authorities are giving cryptocurrency-related investigations a defined place within the country’s wider serious-crime enforcement framework.
According to the reported plan, the Virtual Asset Joint Investigation Division will operate from the Seoul Metropolitan Serious Crimes Investigation Office rather than remain under its current prosecutorial arrangement. That shift means the work now carried out by the Joint Investigation Unit for Virtual Asset Crimes at the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Office will be transferred to the new body.
Placement under the financial crimes bureau
Inside the new Seoul office, the virtual asset division will be housed within the Financial Crimes Investigation Bureau. The structure indicates that crypto-related cases will be treated alongside other financial crime matters, while still being handled by a dedicated team.
The unit is also expected to include staff seconded or assigned from related agencies. The source article names the Financial Services Commission and the National Tax Service among the bodies that will work in the division, pointing to a multi-agency approach to investigations involving virtual assets.
Part of a nationwide serious-crime agency
The Serious Crimes Investigation Office is not limited to Seoul. The new organization will consist of a headquarters and six regional offices located in Seoul, Suwon, Daejeon, Daegu, Busan, and Gwangju.
Across the organization, investigators will cover seven categories of major crime. The source article says those areas include cybercrime and crimes involving distortion of the law, placing virtual asset enforcement within a wider remit that spans multiple forms of complex and high-impact offenses.
Launch date and confirmed staffing
The Serious Crimes Investigation Office is scheduled to officially launch on October 2. At that point, the Virtual Asset Joint Investigation Division is expected to begin operating as part of the Seoul office.
The new agency will have 2,874 personnel in total, with 1,089 assigned to the Seoul office. The confirmed next step is the October launch, when South Korea’s new serious-crime structure is due to start and the dedicated virtual asset division is set to take over the crypto crime role now handled by prosecutors in Seoul’s southern district.
Source: en.bloomingbit.io