South Korea Sentences Fraud Case Applying the Virtual Asset User Protection Act: Main Perpetrator of Meme Coin "Rug Pull" Sentenced to 4 Years in Prison

According to Odaily, a first-instance verdict was delivered today in South Korea for a case applying the fraudulent unfair trading provisions of the Virtual Asset User Protection Act. The Seoul Southern District Court sentenced Park, a cryptocurrency influencer who orchestrated a Meme coin "Rug Pull" scam, to 4 years in prison. Two accomplices received sentences of 2 years and 6 months, and 3 years with 5 years of probation, respectively.

Prosecutors stated that the defendants issued a Meme coin via Pump.fun and spread false positive information, such as "token lockups," through social media. This artificially inflated the coin's price by approximately 1001 times within 26 hours, attracting around 6,000 investors. The group then sold off their holdings to cash out. Having spent only about 10 million Korean Won on operational costs, they illegally profited approximately 400 million Korean Won. (Edaily)