In a statement on Wednesday, South Korea's customs service said that they had managed to uncover about 596.02 million dollars’ worth of illegal cryptocurrency foreign exchange trading.
"[The] customs service has been closely looking at illegal foreign exchange trading using cryptocurrency as part of the government's task force," the statement said.
The statement comes just days after South Korea's financial authorities launched a task force backed by the Korea Financial Intelligence Unit (KFIU) to make cryptocurrency exchanges to fall in line with the country's existing regulations.
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KFIU pledged the task force will specifically take aim at securing the local cryptocurrency market from money laundering and other fraudulent activities.
In another development last week, South Korean Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon said that Seoul is mulling the introduction of taxes on cryptocurrency transactions in a bid to hold back excessive speculative investments in virtual currencies.
He pointed to the "irrational" level in the flow of investments in virtual currencies in South Korea, which he said prompted a relevant response from the authorities.
READ MORE: Bitcoin Rebounds as South Korea Backs Off From Banning Cryptocurrency Trading
Earlier in January, media reports said that South Korea is considering a new law that would outlaw cryptocurrency exchanges so as Seoul to contain speculative frenzy and criminal transactions.
