Proposal to vet major shareholders of virtual asset exchanges for reputation and management capability

South Korea’s Financial Services Commission should broaden its major-shareholder suitability review for virtual asset service providers beyond legal violations and financial soundness to include reputation, expertise, and management capability, according to a report by Korea Institute of Finance research fellow Lee Si-yeon published on the 6th. The proposal responds to the amended Specific Financial Information Act, which took effect in August after its February 2026 revision and now requires crypto businesses to submit major-shareholder details when filing, extending violation-history screening to major shareholders alongside financial condition. The report argues that as digital-asset firms grow, the major-shareholder eligibility framework must become more sophisticated. It matters because Korea’s crypto licensing regime is tightening around exchange ownership, and the scope of who qualifies as a major shareholder has already widened under current rules. What to watch next is whether regulators adopt reputation and management-competence criteria, and how those standards would be applied to the owners of major Korean exchanges.