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SEOUL, Feb. 9 (Yonhap) -- The country's financial watchdog said Monday that it will introduce a set of measures to impose tougher penalties on financial companies for IT infrastructure-related accidents.

The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) said it will draw up measures to prevent IT accidents in the financial sector, which will include punitive penalties and enhanced regulations on IT security in order to better protect consumers.

The steps come as Bithumb, the country's second-largest crypto exchange, mistakenly transferred 620,000 bitcoins to 249 users participating in a promotional event around 7 p.m. Friday.

That amounted to an average of 2,490 bitcoins worth 244 billion won (US$166 million) per user. Some recipients sold the bitcoin, causing a brief but sharp drop in prices.

Bithumb earlier said it had recovered 618,212 bitcoins and later recouped 93 percent of the 1,788 bitcoins sold by users.

The FSS also said it will probe price-rigging activities in the virtual asset market this year.

Lee Chan-jin, governor of the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), speaks during a press conference on the agency's 2026 plan at the FSS headquarters in Seoul, on Feb. 9, 2026. (Yonhap)

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