Korean Law Firm to Appeal New Bitcoin Trading Rules

A South Korean law firm has reportedly filed a constitutional appeal over upcoming regulations restricting digital currency trading.

Seoul-based Anguk Law Offices filed the appeal on Saturday through the Constitutional Court's online appeal system, stating that the government's new regulations on digital currency trading without legal laws to support them is a breach of property rights.

The company asserted in its appeal that digital currencies like bitcoin are "not a legal tender," but are rather property that can be exchanged via legal currencies or commodities with economic value, a Korea Times report indicates.

According to a statement from Anguk:

The law firm is also drafting a series of follow-up appeals filed by digital currency exchanges and investors, the report states.

The South Korean government announced on Dec. 28 that it would move to prohibit domestic cryptocurrency exchanges from allowing users to make transactions through anonymous accounts, local news sources reported at the time. Exchange users will instead be required to connect a bank account with identifying information in order to deposit or withdraw funds.

Other aspects of the new rules include strengthening anti-money laundering rules, as well as a ban on issuing new anonymous virtual accounts. The proposals may even include closing cryptocurrency exchanges within the country.

Jeong Hee-chan, a lawyer at Anguk argued that any regulations should come after the implementation of related laws, saying: "The petition is also a request for the government to respect people's property rights and introduce regulations after a social consensus is made."

As reported yesterday, the regulations are set to be introduced as soon as Jan. 20.

Law image via Shutterstock