The last week or so has seen a vast amount of confusion about what actions the South Korean government may take to regulate cryptocurrency markets within the country. Now, in another twist, local media is reporting that accusations of insider trading have been made against officials within the government.

According to the reports, government agents and officials from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), who had knowledge that announcements were to be made regarding significant restrictions or a complete ban on cryptocurrency markets, purchased and sold cryptocurrencies just before the information was made public.

Choi Hyung-sik, the FSS chief, said that intelligence had been received which confirmed that public officials had been involved in insider trading. However, because cryptocurrencies are not regulated, it is unclear if the government officials who bought and sold on the exchange technically violated the insider trading laws which apply to other financial markets. These allegations will further weaken the South Koreans position, after a week which has seen a public outcry over the proposed restriction and regulation of cryptocurrency markets.

A petition called for a reversal of the proposal quickly gained 200,000 signatures, which is the threshold required to prompt a response from the government within the next 30 days.