South Korea’s Financial Services Commission (FSC) has announced a thorough investigation into the transaction fees charged by domestic cryptocurrency exchanges, aiming to lower trading costs for users, particularly young investors. This initiative aligns with the pro-crypto stance of the newly elected President Lee Jae-myung, who pledged during his campaign to reduce crypto trading fees to support youth participation in the market.
The FSC plans to survey major local exchanges, including Upbit, Bithumb, and Coinone, to analyze their current fee structures, charging methods, and total fees collected. The goal is to assess whether these fees impose an excessive financial burden on consumers and to compare them with international benchmarks to ensure competitiveness and fairness.
An FSC spokesperson emphasized the need to determine if domestic fees are disproportionately high relative to overseas platforms and noted that no fixed commission rate has yet been established. Policy standards will be developed based on a comparative analysis of global exchanges and user preferences.
This probe follows earlier regulatory actions, such as the imposition of a 0.6% supervision fee on exchanges’ operating revenue starting March 2025. For context, Upbit’s parent company Dunamu reported nearly 986 billion won ($714 million) in operating revenue for 2023, while Bithumb and Coinone reported significantly lower figures.
The investigation is part of a broader government effort to foster a more accessible and transparent crypto trading environment in South Korea. It may lead to regulatory interventions aimed at reducing fees, thereby encouraging greater market participation and supporting the country’s growing crypto ecosystem.
This move also complements other initiatives under President Lee’s administration, including exploring on-chain stablecoins and spot Bitcoin ETFs, designed to strengthen the domestic crypto market and curb capital outflows.
In summary, South Korea’s FSC is actively scrutinizing local crypto exchange fees as part of a strategic push to make cryptocurrency trading more affordable and competitive, especially for younger traders, reflecting the government’s commitment to nurturing a vibrant digital asset market.
