On the primary day of a dramatic Nationwide Meeting audit in Seoul, lawmakers demanded a particular investigation into the KOK cryptocurrency rip-off which will have been promoted by South Korea’s right-wing prime day by day paper, the Chosun Ilbo.
Based on Aju Press, a coalition of victims is accusing two subsidiaries of Chosun Ilbo of selling the crypto regardless of realizing that it was fraudulent. Jin Eun-ja, the coalition’s chief, believes these optimistic promotions had been then utilized by scammers to reassure involved buyers that KOK was legit — and that the newspaper contributed to a delay in prosecution.
It’s estimated that KOK has brought on 4 trillion received ($2.97 billion) in damages in South Korea alone.
South Korea’s investigation into the KOK crypto fraud is led by the Ulsan District Prosecutor’s Workplace and has been ongoing for a number of years. No important breakthroughs have been made, however South Korea continues to be awaiting the extradition of a serious KOK suspect recognized solely as ‘Mr. Han.’ He was arrested within the US earlier this yr and is reportedly playing with victims’ money whereas out on bail.
The coalition of victims have subsequently known as for a separate, extra thorough probe to expedite accountability — sentiments which had been reportedly echoed by Democratic Occasion lawmakers Yang Moon-suk and Min Hyung-bae in the course of the audit on Monday.
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Chosun Ilbo gave grand prize to KOK crypto rip-off
The KOK token attracted almost 2 million buyers worldwide from 2019 to 2023. Korean motion pictures and video games supplied on its content material platform, KOK PLAY, might be consumed with KOK tokens, which in flip might be exchanged for bitcoin at a 7-12% fee.
Buyers would additionally obtain commissions for luring in different buyers, primarily working as a Ponzi scheme and multi-level advertising and marketing scheme.
Based on Aju Press, an essential KOK milestone was reported on by Chosun Ilbo’s enterprise information arm, IT Chosun, again in April 2022. Two months later, KOK was awarded a grand prize for “consumer satisfaction” by one other subsidiary, Digital Chosun.
This isn’t the primary (or second) time that the newspaper has confronted allegations of wrongful reporting. Its former editor Track Hee-young was accused of receiving 100 million received ($72,000) from a transport agency and its PR company in trade for favorable protection and a luxurious journey to Europe.
In a twist of occasions, Track was sentenced to 1 yr in jail and two years probation earlier than an appeals court docket discovered him not responsible. This determination was then overturned by the Supreme Courtroom in March; the excessive court docket is anticipated to reopen his case.
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