The CEO of a Korean crypto asset firm was jailed for 3 years, fined ₩500M, and had illicit gains confiscated in the act’s first enforcement case.
On Feb. 4, a Korean court sentenced crypto asset firm CEO Jong-hwan Lee to three years in prison and fined him ₩500 million under the Virtual Asset User Protection Act, marking the law’s first ruling. Lee was found guilty of manipulating ACE token trading volumes between July 22 and Oct. 25, 2024, resulting in illicit gains of 846 million won, which were confiscated. The verdict highlights South Korea’s intensified enforcement against digital asset market abuse.