With the price of bitcoin surging to a yearly high Monday, the South Korean government has held an emergency meeting over the risk of losses for investors, CoinDesk Korea reports.

Noh Hyeong-ouk, minister for the Office for Government Policy Coordination, announced the inter-agency meeting in a government statement earlier on Tuesday, saying participants included Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Ministry of Justice and the nation's top financial watchdog, the Financial Supervisory Commission.

"Since virtual currencies are not legal currencies and nobody guarantees their value, the price fluctuates drastically due to illegal acts, speculative demand, and changes in the domestic and foreign regulatory environment," he said. "It is necessary to make a careful decision on a series of actions."

The government plans to "closely monitor the market situation in the future and actively respond to the risk of investor damage," according to the statement.

In particular, illicit activities such as fraud and "multi-level illegal activities" based on the rise of crypto market prices "will be strictly controlled through surveillance and the financial authorities," the minister said

He further called for a bill to amend the Specific Financial Information Act in order to prevent money laundering, currently under review in the South Korean National Assembly, to be passed "as soon as possible."

Editor’s note: This article is based on a report translated from Korean.

National Assemby image via Shutterstock