The FATF welcomes the Republic of Korea as a member

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Member countries of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) welcomed the Republic of Korea as its 35th member at a meeting in Paris 14 October 2009.

Paul Vlaanderen, President of the FATF, said: “It is an honour and a privilege to work with Korea in the global fight against money laundering and terrorist financing. As an Observer to the FATF for the past three years, Korea contributed to the work of the task force. Today’s decision will benefit both the FATF and Korea. As full-fledged member, Korea will be involved in the whole range of FATF activities, giving the task force the benefit of its expertise and experience.”

Korea’s accession to membership follows the proven commitment made by the Korean authorities to ensure it has an anti-money laundering and counter terrorist financing system which meets the international standards, the FATF 40 + 9 Recommendations, and to continue to play an active role in the fight against money laundering and terrorism financing, both regionally and worldwide.

Mr. Dong-Soo Chin, Chairman of Korea’s Financial Services Commission noted that “As a full member of the FATF, Korea will be able to fully participate in the FATF’s efforts to establish an effective AML/CFT system across the world. We will earnestly contribute to safeguarding the world from the threat of money laundering and terrorist financing. We will also work in close collaboration with other FATF members to better implement the tasks mandated to the FATF.”

Korea has been very active in the Asia-Pacific region in the field of anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing, both as a member of the Asia/Pacific Group on money laundering and through other regional and bilateral mechanisms.

Global reach is an integral part of the FATF’s mission and Korea’s membership will have a positive effect on the ability of the FATF to reach out and ensure effective implementation of the global anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing standards in all regions of the world.

Paul Vlaanderen
President, Financial Action Task Force

14 October 2009

Notes:

1.	For further information, journalists are invited to contact Alison Benney, OECD Media Relations (tel: +33 1 45 24 80 99 or email: alison.benney@oecd.org. Alternatively, the FATF Secretariat may be contacted by telephone: +33 1 45 24 90 90, fax: +33 1 44 30 61 37 or email: contact@fatf-gafi.org.
2.	The FATF is an inter-governmental body whose purpose is the development and promotion of policies, both at national and international levels, to combat money laundering and terrorist financing. The FATF Secretariat is housed at the OECD.
3.	The thirty-five members of the FATF are: Argentina; Australia; Austria; Belgium; Brazil; Canada; China; Denmark; the European Commission; Finland; France; Germany; Greece; the Gulf Co operation Council; Hong Kong,China; Iceland; Ireland; Italy; Japan; Korea; Luxembourg; Mexico; the Kingdom of the Netherlands; New Zealand; Norway; Portugal; the Russian Federation; Singapore; South Africa; Spain; Sweden; Switzerland; Turkey; the United Kingdom; and the United States.
4.	Since 2000 there have been three rounds of enlargement of the FATF membership; Argentina, Brazil and Mexico in 2000, then Russia and South Africa in 2003, and the People’s Republic of China in 2006.
5.	India is an observer country. The Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG), the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) , the Grupo de Acción Financiera de Sudamérica (GAFISUD) , the Middle East and North Africa Financial Action Task Force (MENAFATF) and the Council of Europe Committee of Experts on the Evaluation of Anti-Money Laundering Measures and the Financing of Terrorism (MONEYVAL) are Associate Members.
6.	The global network that is committed to combating money laundering and terrorist financing also includes three other regional bodies: the Eastern and South African Anti Money Laundering Group (ESAAMLG) , the Eurasian Group on Combating Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism (EAG) and the Groupe Inter-gouvernemental d’Action Contre le Blanchiment en Afrique (GIABA) . The Offshore Group of Banking Supervisors (OGBS) is a part of this network as well.