South Korea resumes review of Binance's Gopax stake

South Korea's Financial Intelligence Unit has resumed its long-delayed review of Binance's 67 percent acquisition of domestic exchange Gopax, reopening the path for the world's largest crypto trading platform to return to the South Korean market as early as the end of 2025. The review centers on Gopax's formal report on changes to its key executives, a filing that reflects Binance's role as the majority shareholder and serves as the practical suitability assessment under Korean law.

Binance acquired the stake in February 2023 and the companies filed the executive change report in March 2023, but the review stalled amid regulators' concerns about anti-money laundering controls and broader scrutiny of Binance's operations overseas. The United States brought charges against Binance and its founder in 2023, and the firm later reached a roughly $4.3 billion settlement with U.S. authorities. South Korean officials cited those legal and compliance questions when pausing the approval process, and analysts say the resolution of some U.S. issues has eased regulator concerns enough for the FIU to resume its evaluation.

Under South Korean rules there is no separate regime for vetting large...