South Korea's first case involving violations of the Virtual Asset User Protection Act has been adjudicated, with the main perpetrator sentenced to three years in prison for manipulating cryptocurrenc

PANews reported on February 4th that, according to Yonhap News Agency, the first case in South Korea involving violations of the Virtual Asset User Protection Act has been adjudicated. The Seoul Southern District Court sentenced the CEO of a cryptocurrency exchange to three years in prison for manipulating cryptocurrency prices, imposing a fine of 500 million won (approximately US$385,000) and confiscating approximately 846 million won (approximately US$650,000). However, considering the CEO's cooperative attitude during the trial and his previous detention, the court decided not to revoke his bail and did not detain him. The court found that between July and October 2024, he manipulated prices by using automated trading programs to inflate trading volume and repeatedly placing false buy orders, resulting in illicit gains of approximately 7.1 billion won (approximately US$5.46 million). This case is the first one transferred by the prosecution through the financial regulatory "fast track" since the law came into effect in July 2024.