[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Nahum] Amid the delisting of Wemade's cryptocurrency WEMIX from domestic exchanges, controversy has arisen as Wemade CEO Jang Hyun-guk was found to have used company funds to lease a luxury officetel with a deposit exceeding 10 billion KRW.
According to industry sources on the 9th, Jang's subsidiary, Jeongi IP, set up a leasehold right on a luxury officetel, Signiel, located in Songpa-gu, Seoul, in February.
Jeongi IP is a company that manages intellectual property (IP) for online games including "Legend of Mir." It is reported that the lease deposit paid by the company at that time was 12 billion KRW, which is about 10% of Jeongi IP's sales last year (118.7 billion KRW).
There are concerns that CEO Jang signing a lease contract for an officetel with company money and residing there privately is problematic.
Wemade acknowledged CEO Jang's residence but explained that it was merely a company-provided housing according to company regulations. A Wemade official stated, "The housing was provided under the executive welfare regulations," adding, "If there are taxes to be paid, we plan to pay them within the deadline after consulting relevant advisors."
WEMIX, which traded at a peak price of around 28,000 KRW, is currently trading at about 380 KRW on overseas exchanges following its delisting from domestic exchanges. There are criticisms that the damage caused by the delisting has been entirely passed on to investors.
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