ACAMS Launches Korea Chapter, Announces CAMS Korean Scholarship Winners

The new chapter for AFC professionals comes as part of ACAMS' ongoing commitment to support the fight against illicit finance throughout Korea

WASHINGTON,June 29,2023 -- ACAMS,a leading global membership organization dedicated to ending illicit finance,is strengthening its support for anti-financial crime professionals in Korea with the creation of a new ACAMS chapter and a scholarship program for Korean anti-financial crime (AFC) professionals. The new chapter—the 64th in the ACAMS network—will serve as a platform for ongoing education,knowledge-sharing,and networking for AFC practitioners engaged in financial-crime prevention in Korea's public and private sectors.

Attended by AFC professionals from Korea,the launch in Seoul featured opening remarks by Korean Member of Parliament Yun ChangHyun and a special keynote address by Joshua Johnson,Senior Sanctions Coordinator for the Office of Economic Sanctions Policy and Implementation at the U.S. Department of State.

As part of the launch,the chapter convened a panel of experts to discuss building public-private partnerships to fight illicit finance,featuring speakers Ryu YoungHo,Team Leader at the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS),Kendrick Yeung,Deputy Attaché for U.S. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) at the U.S. Embassy in Seoul,Jean Chung Managing Director,Regional Head,CFCC Advisory,at Standard Chartered,and Hwang SeokJin,a professor at Dongkuk University.

At the event,ACAMS separately announced 6 winners of the CAMS Scholarship for Korean compliance practitioners in the AFC space. In addition to receiving a one-year membership to ACAMS,the scholarship winners will seek to become Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists (CAMS) with a full waiver of associated fees for study materials.

Widely viewed as the global gold standard certification for anti-money laundering (AML) professionals,the CAMS program trains applicants on the international standards for detecting,investigating,and reporting suspicious financial activity and illicit money flows.

"As a platform for cross-sector collaboration in the AFC space,our chapters reflect the core belief of ACAMS that we are more effective in preventing illicit finance when we work together," said ACAMS COO Mariah Gause. "The new ACAMS Korea Chapter will help drive conversations on how to fight financial crime more effectively and foster a community of dedicated AFC professionals who will share best practices on safeguarding the financial sector and saving lives."

"We're also proud to award our CAMS Scholarship to 6 remarkable Korean professionals to support their compliance journeys," she said. "As our first scholarship designed for a national market,this initiative reflects the commitment shared by ACAMS and the recipients to prevent criminals from exploiting Korea's private sector. We look forward to seeing what the future holds for these talented scholarship recipients."

Find out more about the ACAMS Korea Chapter,including how to join,here: https://www.acams.org/en/chapters/apac/korea-chapter

Learn more about the CAMS Scholarship program and the new winners here: https://www.acams.org/en/resources/diversity-equity-inclusion/scholarships

About ACAMS®

ACAMS is a leading international membership organization dedicated to providing opportunities for anti-financial crime (AFC) education,best practices,and peer-to-peer networking to AFC professionals globally. With over 100,000 members across 180 jurisdictions,ACAMS is committed to the mission of ending financial crime through the provision of anti-money laundering/counterterrorism-financing and sanctions knowledge-sharing,thought leadership,risk-mitigation services,ESG initiatives,and platforms for public-private dialogue. The association's CAMS certification is the gold- standard qualification for AFC professionals,while its CGSS and CCAS certifications are for sanctions professionals and AFC practitioners working in the crypto space,respectively. ACAMS' 60+ Chapters globally further amplify the association's mission through training and networking initiatives. Visit acams.org for more information.