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Photo courtesy of Yonhap News |
[Alpha Biz= Ellie Kim] Woori Bank has been acquitted in a first-instance court ruling on charges of violating foreign exchange regulations in connection with cryptocurrency-related transactions.
On May 14, the Seoul Central District Court, presided over by Judge Lim Hye-won, found Woori Bank not guilty of alleged violations of the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act and the Banking Act.
Prosecutors had accused several Woori Bank branches of failing to comply with reporting and review obligations for foreign exchange transactions, as well as breaching internal control standards, during the processing of import-related payments between 2021 and 2022.
Woori Bank argued that the transactions in question did not fall under reportable foreign exchange activities subject to the Bank of Korea, but instead constituted consignment trading under commercial law. The bank also maintained that its employees do not have the authority to independently verify the authenticity of documents submitted by clients and that its internal control systems were functioning properly.
The court ruled that the primary actors responsible for the unregistered foreign exchange activities and unreported capital transactions were the individuals who transferred funds abroad through cryptocurrency trading, rather than the bank itself.
It further stated that the joint penalty provisions under the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act are intended to punish the actual entities conducting unregistered foreign exchange business, and that the bank could not be held liable solely because its employees were partially involved in the remittance process.
Regarding allegations that the bank failed to properly verify supporting documents, the court found that since the transactions were recognized as payments for imports not requiring reporting or approval under the law, the bank had no obligation to confirm whether such approvals or filings had been made.
Alphabiz Ellie Kim 인턴기자(press@alphabiz.co.kr)
