The South Korean authorities announced on Thursday that Binance, a leading global cryptocurrency exchange, has finalized its acquisition of a local crypto exchange, marking its initial move into the South Korean digital asset market.

The Financial Services Commission (FSC) of South Korea, through its Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), approved Binance's acquisition of GOPAX on Wednesday.

GOPAX is the fifth-largest cryptocurrency exchange in South Korea.

Binance had aimed to enter the Korean market by acquiring a majority stake in GOPAX in 2023, but the process faced delays due to legal proceedings, including local authorities handling notifications of executive changes.

While South Korean cryptocurrency exchanges do not require qualification reviews for major shareholders, they must report a list of managers to financial authorities, which can decide whether to approve the report.

This acquisition is expected to expedite compensation for victims of GOPAX's GOFi yield product, which encountered issues after its operator, Genesis Global Capital, filed for bankruptcy, effectively freezing customer deposits. Binance has agreed to address the outstanding debts related to GOFi during the acquisition process.