As a seasoned crypto investor with a decade of experience under my belt, I’ve seen it all – the highs and lows, the booms and busts, the legitimate projects and the outright scams. The KOK saga is an unfortunate reminder of the dark side of this exciting industry.
Those who fell prey to the KOK crypto fraud have criticized South Korea’s biggest daily newspaper for publicizing the deceptive investment opportunity, resulting in estimated losses of approximately 3.5 trillion won ($2.97 billion).
As a concerned crypto investor, I’ve come across reports suggesting that a group of affected parties has alleged that the subsidiaries IT Chosun and Digital Chosun Ilbo, under the umbrella of Chosun IIbo, intentionally endorsed the questionable KOK token scheme to the public.
As an analyst, I assert that these media outlets have been instrumental in extending credibility to the KOK token by offering comprehensive coverage. This coverage encompasses reporting on the debut of KOK’s primary transaction server and bestowing the company with a prestigious award for exceptional customer satisfaction.
According to Jin Eun-ja, the head of the coalition, it’s alleged that those managing the scheme deceptively utilized endorsements to make investors believe in the project, even as doubts arose. This misinformation, in turn, seems to have led to the investors suffering financial losses.
In the process, attorney Lee Min-suk, speaking for the coalition, highlighted the questionable timing of Chosun Ilbo’s news coverage and awards, implying that it significantly boosted the scheme’s legitimacy, thereby attracting more unaware investors to the fraudulent activity.
He called for a special investigation to determine whether Chosun Ilbo’s actions helped key figures in the scam avoid legal trouble early on, particularly in light of the Ulsan District Prosecutor’s Office investigation, which has yet to produce meaningful results.
Additionally, Eun-ja voiced her disappointment that Mr. Han, who plays a crucial role in KOK promotion, has yet to face consequences for being a wanted fugitive with a red notice. At the time of the latest report, Han had been apprehended in the United States this year and is currently in custody, awaiting transfer back to South Korea for trial.
Regulators step in
Lawmakers from the Democratic Party, Yang Moon-suk and Min Hyung-bae, brought up the matter during a parliamentary examination on October 7th in Seoul, advocating for a comprehensive probe into the entire KOK scandal. They felt it necessary to dig deeper.
Lawmakers claim this operation functioned like a network marketing system, enticing over 1.86 million local and foreign investors with the promise of substantial returns. This activity is estimated to have caused around 4 trillion won ($29.7 billion) in losses.
In February 2022, the price of KOK token peaked at a maximum of $6.83, but it has since significantly dropped to $0.0003129 as reported by CoinGecko at the moment. Despite this steep decline, the token is still active on four major exchanges: ByBit, Gate.io, Indodax, and HTX. The highest trading volume within the last 24 hours was recorded on ByBit, amounting to $73,114.
Instead, it appears that the team stopped managing the project’s X account, as the latest update was posted in June 2023.
Meanwhile, it’s worth mentioning that South Korean authorities are also working on extraditing Do Kwon, a contentious figure who established Terraform Labs. Kwon is wanted for allegations of a $40 billion cryptocurrency scam related to TerraUSD in both South Korea and the U.S.
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2024-10-08 12:48