Merge Point Scandal Goes to Court... Victims Say "Selling Without Funds Is Fraud"

On the 17th, the legal representatives of the Merge Point victims' class action filed a lawsuit for damages at the Seoul District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul, and are answering reporters' questions. Photo by Kim Daehyun.

[Asia Economy Reporters Daehyun Kim and Seungseop Song] The Merge Point incident, which caused suspicions of a Ponzi scheme and a large-scale refund crisis, has ultimately headed to court.

Kang Dongwon, lead attorney at Law Firm Justice, filed a civil complaint for damages against Merge Plus on the 17th at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul.

The number of victims is about 150, with the claim amounting to approximately 200 million KRW. This includes the purchase amount, subscription service payments, and 200,000 KRW in consolation fees per victim. The scale of damage has decreased from the initial 250 people who expressed their intention to file a lawsuit via a non-face-to-face video conference.

The trial is expected to focus primarily on the fraud allegations. Attorney Kang stated, “Merge Plus and Merge Supporter show many tendencies of a Ponzi scheme,” adding, “If they had no funds from the beginning or sold despite a shortage of funds at some point, that constitutes fraud and a civil illegal act.”

He continued, “Communication sales brokerage companies could have sufficiently verified the fraudulent activities,” and explained, “If they did not verify despite being able to, I will focus on the joint liability for illegal acts.”

Regarding plans for future criminal complaints, he said, “I heard that the police are investigating for violations of the Electronic Financial Transactions Act,” emphasizing, “While pursuing civil litigation, we can apply for financial information provision registration through the court.” This means they intend to analyze the flow of funds and consult with clients to file additional complaints.

Regarding claims that refunds are currently underway and actually being processed, Attorney Kang responded, “It seems they believe that making small payments can avoid fraud charges,” and added, “We will review this later.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.