South Korea Resumes Review of Binance’s Gopax Acquisition
South Korean financial regulators have restarted their review of Binance’s acquisition of local crypto exchange Gopax. This move could allow Binance to re-enter South Korea’s market after more than two years.
The Korea Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) recently resumed examining Gopax’s “executive change report.” This report is essential for approving Binance’s majority ownership. The review had been paused since 2023 but may conclude by the end of 2025.
Binance acquired a 67% stake in Gopax in February 2023. The two companies submitted the required executive change report in March 2023. However, regulators delayed approval due to concerns over Binance’s global anti-money laundering (AML) compliance.
Regulatory Concerns and U.S. Legal Challenges
The delay was mainly linked to Binance’s legal issues in the United States. In June 2023, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sued Binance for offering unregistered services and misusing customer funds.
The U.S. Department of Justice and Treasury also charged Binance with AML violations. Binance agreed to pay a $4.3 billion fine, one of the largest in crypto history, to settle these cases.
These legal challenges made South Korean regulators cautious about approving Binance’s ownership changes at Gopax.
Positive Outlook After U.S. Case Dismissal
The situation improved in May 2025 when the U.S. SEC dropped its case against Binance and its co-founder Changpeng Zhao. Binance had addressed compliance issues and cleared all fines.
This development encouraged South Korea’s FIU to resume its review of the Gopax acquisition.
An unnamed financial official told Newsis, “With all lawsuits related to Binance by the US authorities now dropped, the risk of GOPAX’s major shareholder has also disappeared. It is highly likely that the executive change report will be accepted within this year.”
Binance’s Path to Market Re-Entry
South Korean law does not have a separate process for screening major shareholders of crypto exchanges. Instead, executive change reports act as an indirect review of shareholder suitability.
If the FIU approves the report, Binance could officially return to South Korea’s crypto market by the end of 2025. This would mark Binance’s comeback since it shut down local operations in 2021.
