PANews reported on April 15 that according to Cointelegraph, South Korea is expanding its ban on applications for digital asset companies to serve its citizens. On April 11, the Financial Services Commission (FSC) of South Korea announced that 14 cryptocurrency exchanges were blocked from the Apple App Store. The affected exchanges include KuCoin and MEXC. The report released on April 14 stated that the banned exchanges were accused of operating as unregistered overseas virtual asset operators. The report also stated that the Financial Information Analysis Unit (FIU) will continue to promote the blocking of applications and websites of such operators to prevent money laundering and user damage.
After Google Play blocked access to several unregistered exchanges on March 26, the Apple App Store also received a request to block apps. During the period when Google Play apps were blocked, KuCoin and MEXC were also affected. The FSC published a list of 22 unregistered platforms operating in the country, 17 of which have been blocked by Google Play. According to the FSC report, users will not be able to download these apps on the Apple App Store, and existing users will not be able to update them. The FSC noted that "unreported business activities are criminal penalty matters" and are punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine of up to 50 million won ($35,200).
