Money laundering is a major international issue. Countries around the world strive to combat money laundering activities. Joining the global anti-money laundering effort, the Korean government established the Korea Financial Intelligence Unit (KoFIU) in November 2001, a specialized national agency responsible for receiving, analyzing and disseminating information on suspicious transactions.

As the KoFIU Commissioner, I intend to concentrate oneffectively realizing the goals of the agency, which are to prevent money laundering associated with serious crimes and to stop the illicit cross-border flow of funds that abuses the foreign exchange liberalization policy.
Today, international cooperation is more important than ever. In order to take a more active role in international anti-money laundering initiatives, KoFIU will strengthen cooperation and facilitate information exchange with foreign financial intelligence units. As a member of the Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering(APG) since 1998, KoFIU will continue to actively participate in APG activities. Furthermore, KoFIU joined the Egmont Group in June 2002.

The Korea Financial Intelligence Unit will ensure that a comprehensive and effective system is in place to detect and monitor illegal activities associated with money laundering. With such an anti-money laundering system, we expect that the Korean financial system will become more sound and transparent.

I hope this website gives you a better understanding of Korea's anti-money laundering efforts, and I look forward to your continuing interest in the activities of KoFIU.

Thank you,

Chul-Hwan Lee Commissioner