SOUTH KOREA Trends and Developments
Trends and Developments Contributed by:
Ohoon Kwon and Yeon Seo Cha & Kwon Law Offices
Cha & Kwon Law Offices is a Seoul-based boutique law firm specialising in Korean virtual asset, block- chain and fintech law. The firm advises domestic and international clients on the full lifecycle of digital as- set matters, including token issuance and tokenised securities structuring, virtual asset service provider (VASP) licensing under the Specified Financial Infor- mation Act, compliance with the Virtual Asset User Protection Act (VAUPA), defence in market-abuse proceedings, and cross-border issues including for- eign exchange controls, AML and CARF reporting.
Cha & Kwon also represents foreign-affiliated cor- porates seeking access to Korea’s phased corporate crypto account regime, and advises on token-related M&A and regulatory due diligence. Recent work in- cludes advisory mandates for foreign virtual asset service providers entering the Korean market and representation in cross-border digital asset disputes. The firm maintains active correspondent relation- ships in the United States, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, Japan and Australia, and advises in English on cross-border matters.
Authors
Ohoon Kwon is the managing partner of Cha & Kwon Law Offices, specialising in virtual asset, blockchain and IT law. He holds an SJD from Konkuk University Law School, where he completed a
Yeon Seo is an attorney at Cha & Kwon Law Offices, advising on blockchain business structure and operations, and on civil and criminal litigation arising from blockchain and virtual asset disputes. Her practice
dissertation on virtual asset issuance in Korea. He served as the lead researcher on the Basic Act on Blockchain commissioned by the Ministry of Science and ICT and the Korea Internet and Security Agency, and as vice chairperson of the Korean Bar Association’s IT and Blockchain Special Committee. His practice covers token and tokenised securities structuring, VASP licensing, VAUPA compliance and cross-border regulatory matters. He advises international clients in English.
draws on a background in IT and emerging technologies and focuses on the securities characterisation of virtual assets, regulatory matters under the Virtual Asset User Protection Act and the Specified Financial Information Act, and electronic financial transactions. She holds a JD from Korea University School of Law and a BA from Seoul National University. Admitted to the Korean Bar in 2025, she works in Korean and English.
Cha & Kwon Law Offices 5F, 526 Nonhyeon-ro Gangnam-gu
Seoul Korea
Tel: +82 2 6245 9090 Fax: +82 2 6245 9091 Email: contact@chakwon.com Web: www.chakwon.com
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