South Korea's Bissum 'Ghost Coin' Incident, Lawmakers Pursue Flaws in Financial Regulatory Oversight

On February 6, 2026, the South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Bissum mistakenly distributed approximately 62 trillion won (about 6.8 trillion yen) worth of Bitcoin, referred to as 'ghost coins', to customers. This incident has intensified criticism from lawmakers who claim that financial authorities failed to detect system flaws during prior inspections. This was reported by multiple media outlets including The Korea Times on February 19.

According to data presented by Congressman Kang Minguk, the Financial Services Commission (FSC) conducted one inspection in 2022 and two in 2025, while the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) also carried out three inspections during the same period, totaling six inspections. Nevertheless, they missed critical vulnerabilities that could easily lead to input errors...