Civic Group Files Complaint Against Kakao's Kim Beom-su Over Alleged Cryptocurrency Unfair Gains
A civic group has filed a complaint with the prosecution against key executives of Kakao, alleging they gained unfair profits through cryptocurrency.
On the 13th, Economic Democracy 21 reported former Kakao Chairman Kim Beom-su and key figures from Krust Universe, Ground X, and the Klaytn Foundation to the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office, which has a joint investigation team for virtual asset crimes, on charges of violating the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes (embezzlement and breach of trust) and the Capital Markets Act. Krust Universe, Ground X, and the Klaytn Foundation are companies related to 'Klaytn,' a blockchain platform developed by Kakao.
According to Economic Democracy 21, a small number of insiders at Kakao are suspected of dividing and cashing out the cryptocurrency 'KLAY' under various names such as investment, compensation, and service fees. The group claims that the unfair profits obtained by cashing out the cryptocurrency amount to hundreds of billions of won. They also pointed out that embezzlement occurred during the private sale (non-public pre-sale) process before KLAY was listed.
Kim Kyung-yul, the representative of Economic Democracy 21, said, "The flow of funds involving former Chairman Kim and his closest associates is opaque, mediated through KLAY," adding, "A thorough investigation is needed to determine whether former Chairman Kim and his close family exploited regulatory gaps to deceive ordinary citizens and enrich themselves."
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Kakao developed KLAY in 2018 through its subsidiary Ground X. According to the cryptocurrency market data site CoinMarketCap, the supply of KLAY is approximately 5.7 billion tokens. Economic Democracy 21 stated, "Through this complaint, we hope to encourage the government and political circles to regulate the virtual asset industry and to garner public interest and participation."
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