'Pikacoin Price Manipulation Suspicion' Lee Hee-jin Detained for Custody Hearing with Cast

"Did you conspire to commit fraud?" Reporter questions met with 'silent response'

Lee Hee-jin (37), known as the 'Cheongdam-dong Stock Rich' and suspected of being involved in manipulating the price of Pikacoin, has reached a critical point regarding his detention.

Lee Hee-jin, who is suspected of manipulating the price of Pikacoin, is appearing at the Seoul Southern District Court in Yangcheon-gu, Seoul, on the afternoon of the 15th for a warrant hearing (pre-arrest suspect interrogation) on charges of fraud, breach of trust under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes, and violation of the Act on the Regulation of Concealment of Criminal Proceeds.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 15th, Judge Yoo Hwan-woo, in charge of warrants at the Seoul Southern District Court, conducted a pre-arrest interrogation (warrant substantive examination) from around 2 p.m. for Lee and his younger brother Lee Hee-moon (35), who are accused of fraud, violation of the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes (breach of trust), and violation of the Act on the Concealment of Criminal Proceeds. Employee A (34), who was in charge of managing and supervising the cryptocurrency business at the virtual currency issuing company represented by the Lee brothers, also underwent a warrant substantive examination on fraud charges.

Lee appeared at the court around 1:47 p.m. that day for the warrant substantive examination, wearing a cast on his left arm and a brace on his right leg. He did not respond to reporters' questions such as "Did you conspire with the representative of the Pika Project to commit fraud?", "Did you manipulate the cryptocurrency price to sell at a high price?", and "How much profit did you make?".

The Lee brothers and A are suspected of false and exaggerated promotion and price manipulation of three types of cryptocurrencies issued domestically, including Pikacoin. Furthermore, the Lee brothers are known to have arbitrarily used or concealed funds after driving up the cryptocurrency prices and selling at high prices. The cryptocurrency suspected to have been manipulated by them is Pikacoin, which recruited investors by claiming that they could jointly own high-priced artworks through fractional investment. It applied for listing on the domestic cryptocurrency exchange Upbit in December 2020 and was listed in January 2021. However, it was delisted after six months due to issues with issuance and circulation volume.

Song (23) and Sung (44), co-representatives of Pika Project, the company that issued Pikacoin, were arrested and indicted on the 9th of last month on charges including fraud under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes, fraudulent trading under the Capital Markets Act, breach of trust, and obstruction of business for issuing Pikacoin, manipulating its price, and selling it at a high price. The prosecution suspects that the Lee brothers conspired with Song and Sung by entering into a joint business contract and participating in the crime.

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