'Cheongdam-dong Stock Tycoon' Lee Hee-jin Brothers Detained... "Risk of Evidence Tampering and Flight"

Lee Hee-jin (37), known as the "Cheongdam-dong Stock Rich," and his younger brother have been arrested on fraud charges related to three cryptocurrencies, including Pikacoin.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 16th, Yuh Hwan-woo, the presiding judge in charge of warrants at the Seoul Southern District Court, conducted a detention hearing for Lee and his younger brother Lee Hee-moon (35) on charges 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. The judge issued arrest warrants, citing concerns over evidence tampering and flight risk. Kim (34), an employee who oversaw the management and supervision of the coin business at the coin issuing company operated by the Lee brothers, was also arrested on fraud charges.

When the Lee brothers appeared at the court around 1:45 p.m. the previous day, they remained silent in response to reporters' questions such as "Is it true that you conspired with the CEO of the Pika Project to commit fraud?" and "Did you inflate the coin prices to sell at a high price?" Lee Hee-jin appeared with a cast on his left arm and a brace on his right leg.

The Lee brothers are accused of raising the prices of three cryptocurrencies, including Pikacoin, through false and exaggerated promotions and market manipulation, then selling them at high prices and arbitrarily using or hiding the proceeds.

The prosecution believes that the Lee brothers are connected to Sung (44) and Song (23), co-CEOs of the Pika Project, who are currently on trial for charges including fraudulent unfair trading under the Capital Markets Act, fraud under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes, and breach of trust.

Sung and Song are accused of manipulating market prices and falsely promoting the performance of an art piece investment business to inflate Pikacoin prices, then selling the coins to embezzle 33.8 billion won.

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