South Korea court jails ‘Etherfather’ for four years over CATFI rug pull

The Seoul Southern District Court also ordered forfeitures after convicting Park and two accomplices in a memecoin scheme that allegedly generated 400 million won in illicit gains.

SOL

Summary

Crypto influencer Park, known as "Etherfather," was sentenced to four years in prison in South Korea on unfair trading charges tied to the CATFI memecoin, Digital Asset reported. The 11th Criminal Division of the Seoul Southern District Court convicted Park of violating the Virtual Asset User Protection Act and ordered forfeiture of about 223 million won ($160,000). Two accomplices also received prison terms and asset penalties. Prosecutors had indicted the defendants in May after alleging they spent several million won in early 2025 to issue CATFI, a Solana-based memecoin, on Pump.fun and list it on a decentralized exchange before executing a rug pull (a scheme in which promoters abandon a token after drawing in buyers). The case centers on alleged illicit gains of 400 million won ($287,000).

Terms & Concepts
  • memecoin: A token driven largely by online hype or memes.
  • decentralized exchange: A trading venue that lets users swap tokens directly on-chain.
  • rug pull: A scam where token promoters withdraw liquidity or abandon a project.