South Korea Sentences Fraud Case Under *Virtual Asset User Protection Act*: Main Perpetrator of Meme Coin "Rug Pull" Sentenced to 4 Years

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

Prosecutors stated that the defendants issued a Meme coin via Pump.fun and used social media to spread false positive information, such as "lock-up." This caused the coin price to surge approximately 1,001 times within 26 hours, attracting about 6,000 investors. The group then sold their holdings to cash out. The gang spent only about 10 million Korean Won on the operation and illegally profited approximately 400 million Korean Won. (Edaily)