Article 10(Prohibition of Unfair Trade Practices) #
(1) None of the following persons shall use any material non-public information relating to virtual assets (information that may significantly affect users' investment decisions and has not been disclosed to many, unspecified persons through methods prescribed by Presidential Decree; hereinafter the same shall apply) for trading in the relevant virtual assets or engaging in other transactions or allow other persons to use such information:
1. Virtual asset service providers, persons issuing virtual assets (including corporations; hereafter in this Article the same shall apply), their executive officers, employees, or agents, who become aware of the material non-public information in connection with their duties;
2. If persons referred to in subparagraph 1 are corporations, any major shareholders (referring to major shareholders defined in subparagraph 6 (b) of Article 2 of the Act on Corporate Governance of Financial Companies; in such cases, "financial company" shall be construed as "corporation"), who become aware of the material non-public information while exercising their rights;
3. Persons having, among other things, authority to grant permissions, authorizations, instructions, or supervision to virtual asset service providers or to those issuing virtual assets under relevant statutes or regulations, who become aware of the material non-public information while exercising such authority;
4. Persons who are in the process of entering into or negotiating a contract with either virtual asset service providers or persons issuing virtual assets, who become aware of the material non-public information in the course of entering into, negotiating, or performing such contract;
5. Agents (including executive officers, employees, or agents if the person in question is a corporation), employees, or other employees (or an executive officer, employee, or agent of a corporation if the person falling under any of subparagraphs 2 through 4 is the corporation), who become aware of the material non-public information in connection with their duties;
6. Persons who receive the material non-public information from a person falling under any of subparagraphs 1 through 5 (including a person in whose case one year has not passed since the day he or she ceased to fall under any of subparagraphs 1 through 5);
7. Other persons equivalent to those prescribed in the above-listed subparagraphs, that are prescribed by Presidential Decree.
(2) No one shall engage in any of the following acts with the intent to mislead others into believing virtual assets are actively traded or otherwise cause others to make a wrong judgement:
1. Conspiring with other persons to buy virtual assets at the same price as his or her sale price, or at the same time he or she sells them;
2. Conspiring with other persons to sell virtual assets at the same price as his or her purchase price and at the same time he or she sells them;
3. Engaging in false trading of virtual assets with no intent to transfer the right thereto;
4. Entrusting or being entrusted with any act under subparagraphs 1 through 3.
(3) No person shall mislead anyone into believing that virtual assets are actively traded or engage in trading, entrust, or be entrusted to manipulate or fix the market prices thereof with the intent to encourage the trading of virtual assets.
(4) No person shall engage in the following acts related to the trading or other transactions of virtual assets:
1. Employing improper means, schemes, or tricks;
2. Making false statements or misrepresentations of material facts, or using either documents with no statement or representation of material facts necessary to prevent misunderstanding for others or any other statement or representation in an attempt to earn money or any interest in property;
3. Using false market prices with the intent to encourage the trading and other transactions of virtual assets;
4. Entrusting or being entrusted with any act under subparagraphs 1 through 3.
(5) No virtual asset service provider shall trade or engage in other transactions of virtual assets issued by itself or by a person in a special relationship prescribed by Presidential Decree (hereinafter referred to as "related person"), except in any of the following cases:
1. Where the virtual assets are issued as a means of payment for specific goods or services, and a virtual asset service provider provides the certain goods or services as promised to the users, and acquires the virtual assets in return;
2. Where a virtual asset service provider is forced to acquire the virtual assets due to their characteristics and complies with the procedures and methods prescribed by Presidential Decree to prevent unfair trade practices or conflict of interests with users.
(6) A person violating paragraphs (1) through (5) shall be liable for damages suffered by a user due to the violation in connection with the trading and other transactions of the virtual assets.