South Korean Court Upholds Hancom Crypto Scandal Verdict

• Court denies Hancom Group chairman’s son’s crypto fraud case appeal.
• The court sentenced the chairman’s son to three years in prison.
• The suspect allegedly created and used slush funds worth $6.29 million.

A South Korean court denied the appeal of the Hancom Group chairman’s son, upholding his prison sentence for creating slush funds using crypto. Specifically, the court had sentenced Kim’s son to prison, convicting him for creating and using slush funds worth 9 billion won ($6.29 million) with virtual assets.

The court dismissed the suspect’s appeal and upheld the original judgment. It also denied another appeal from the CEO of Arowana Tech, a cryptocurrency management company facing similar charges. This case stems from an issue from about three years ago when Kim’s son and another executive from a Hancom Group affiliate allegedly worked together and sold roughly 14.571 million Arowana tokens through a local crypto consultant.

Read also : Hancom Chairman Faces Crypto Fraud Probe in South Korea

The original allegation states the suspects transferred about 8.03 billion won ($5.6 million) worth of Ethereum and Bitcoin to the chairman’s son’s crypto wallet. The court sentenced the suspect to three years in prison on charges of breach of trust under the Specific Economic Crime Aggravated Punishment Act.

Chairman’s Son Jailed

Authorities arrested Kim’s son last December and detained him until March of this year. The chairman’s son received bail so he could attend trial without detention. However, he returned to prison after the court upheld its initial ruling.

In the original judgment, the court said the Hancom Group chairman’s son and the CEO of a subsidiary company used the public’s interest in virtual currency to attract investment. The court considered their actions a serious crime and a social evil that deserved strict punishment.