South Korean Supreme Court Upholds Conviction of Former Coinone Executives for Bribery in Altcoin Listings
In a significant legal conclusion, the South Korean Supreme Court has upheld the guilty verdict against former employees of Coinone, a prominent cryptocurrency exchange, who accepted bribes to include altcoins on the platform.
This ruling marks the culmination of a protracted legal battle. In September 2023, the Seoul Southern District Court sentenced Coinone’s former director responsible for coin listings, identified by the surname Jeon (42 years old), to four years in prison. Another individual, surnamed Kim (32 years old), who served as the manager of Coinone’s listing team, received a sentence of three years and six months.
Jeon and Kim appealed this initial verdict in the High Court, which affirmed their guilt. Subsequently, they brought their case to the Supreme Court, which has now upheld both the original guilty verdicts and the respective sentences.
Furthermore, on July 2, the Supreme Court’s second division also confirmed fines of $1.4 million for Jeon and $585,000 for Kim.
The convictions stem from charges of embezzlement. According to reports, Jeon received approximately $1.4 million in cryptoassets and fiat currency from brokers over a span of two years and eight months, starting in 2020, allegedly in exchange for facilitating the listing of unspecified altcoins on Coinone.
Meanwhile, the court disclosed that Kim accepted coins and cash amounting to $743,000 over a period of two years and five months. Additionally, both executives were found guilty of manipulating cryptoasset prices on the exchange, thereby obstructing its operations.
In sentencing, the District Court emphasized the critical need for integrity among employees tasked with exchange listings and stressed the severity of penalties for embezzlement and bribery-related offenses.
The High Court, in rejecting the appeal, remarked that the defendants had attempted to shift blame onto each other. It also stated that the sentences imposed were appropriate given the financial stakes involved.
Ultimately, the Supreme Court affirmed that neither the District Court nor the High Court had committed any procedural errors that could have affected their rulings.
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