TechFlow news: Lee Jeong-hoon, former chairman of Bithumb Holdings and Bithumb Korea, has been acquitted in the second trial of a $100 million fraud case.
According to local media reports, before this recent decision by the Fifth Criminal Division of the Seoul High Court, Lee Jeong-hoon was previously acquitted in January 2023 on similar charges of alleged fraud. In the trial that began with his indictment in July 2021, prosecutors accused him of fraudulent activities, particularly of misappropriating funds from plastic surgeon Kim Byung-geun during acquisition deal negotiations. Prosecutors argued that Lee had embezzled deposit payments for the acquisition under the pretext of listing the "BXA token."
However, in its latest ruling, the court declared him not guilty, emphasizing that the evidence presented was insufficient to prove he had ever promised to list the token. The judges found the prosecution's case lacked credibility, supporting the position that the alleged crimes could not be proven based on the evidence provided.
Previous report: According to South Korean media, South Korean prosecutors requested an eight-year prison sentence for Lee Jeong-hoon, former chairman of cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb, on charges of violating the Act on Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes—the same request as in the first trial. Lee was accused of defrauding approximately 1.1 trillion won (about $85 million).
