Breaking news: A Seoul court recently imprisoned a former high-ranking executive of Coinone, a member of South Korea’s four biggest crypto exchanges, alongside three others for committing trust-related offenses.
The former executive, known as Jeon (41), received a four-year sentence for illicitly receiving bribes to list certain unnamed altcoins on Coinone. These altcoins were intended to stir up their respective prices. In addition to the prison term, the court penalized Jeon with an impressive $1.4 million fine.
Among those embroiled in this scandal was a certain Kim (31), a prior manager of Coinone’s listing team. Kim received a lighter sentence of three years but was ordered to pay a hefty fine of $600,000. Kim maintained his innocence, asserting that he neither conspired with Jeon nor understood that their actions could lead to price manipulation. The judge, however, countered this claim, pointing out that it was “reasonable to assume” that as a Coinone employee, Kim must have known the potential for market disruption on listing the coins.
Two other players, referred to as “crypto brokers,” were also chastised for their roles in the scenario. One received a two-and-half-year jail term, while another was condemned to 1.5 years behind bars.
The indictment revealed that Jeon and Kim accepted both crypto and cash payments from these brokers within the period of 2020-2022. Furthermore, prosecutors provided evidence that Kim attempted to get rid of evidence after investigations commenced.
The verdict of this high-profile case indicates that regulators must fully monitor and manage crypto exchanges’ listing processes moving forward. The judge noted, “Employees who deal with coin listings are expected to show high levels of compliance and integrity.”
Elsewhere, Bithumb executives, a rival crypto exchange to Coinone, have been suspected of value tampering methods in recent investigations. This comes in tandem with South Korea’s second-largest city, Busan, announcing plans for a new digital asset trading platform. The platform was initially hoped to host crypto assets but has now adjusted its plans to trade digitized products and tokenized intellectual property rights.
These unfolding events paint a revealing picture of the current regulatory environment in the South Korean crypto landscape. As regulations tighten, the blockchain community must constantly evaluate the fine line between innovation and unethical manipulation. This case serves as a stark reminder for the need for transparency and accountability within the industry.
Source: Cryptonews
