South Korea's 15 Closed Crypto Exchanges Hold 22.1 Billion Won in Assets, Customer Return Rate at Only 0.3%

According to South Korea’s ruling Democratic Party lawmaker Kang Min-guk on May 12, 15 virtual asset exchanges that have ceased operations hold approximately 22.1 billion won in customer assets. However, the actual return rate to customers stands at only 0.3%, with just 74.52 million won returned to 131 users as of the reporting date.

The Digital Asset Protection Foundation received return requests from only 174 users across five of the 15 closed exchanges, totaling 82.27 million won in claimed assets. Kang noted that current regulations do not mandate asset transfers to the protection foundation when exchanges close, leaving no legal mechanism to enforce compliance. The foundation has also not actively promoted return applications among depositors.