Haru Invest Executives Acquitted in First Trial After Halting Deposits and Withdrawals of 800 Billion Won in Coins

Chief Operating Officer Found Guilty of Embezzlement

The co-CEO of Haru Invest, a virtual asset deposit service company that caused damages by suddenly suspending deposits and withdrawals after receiving virtual assets worth hundreds of billions of won from customers, was found not guilty in the first trial.

On June 17, the 15th Criminal Division of the Seoul Southern District Court (Presiding Judge Yang Hwansung) acquitted Haru Invest co-CEOs Park (45) and Song (41), as well as Chief Business Officer Lee (41), who were indicted on charges including fraud under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes.

The court stated, "It has been confirmed that from June 2021 to October 2022, the company secured operational profits exceeding the amount of returns owed to customers for a considerable period," and added, "If the business had not been sustainable, operating losses should have worsened, but the losses were managed at a controllable level."

The court further explained that the fundamental cause of Haru Invest's suspension of deposits and withdrawals was the bankruptcy of the global virtual asset exchange FTX in November 2022. Therefore, even if there was exaggerated promotion, it was difficult to conclude that the facts were distorted to the extent of constituting fraud. At the time, the court determined that Haru Invest's business was sustainable and that external factors had a significant impact on the suspension of deposits and withdrawals.

According to the prosecution, the defendants were brought to trial on charges of fraudulently obtaining 1.39 trillion won worth of coins from 16,347 people between March 2020 and June 2023 by promoting that they would guarantee principal and provide the highest returns in the industry. However, after the indictment was amended, the number of victims was reduced to about 2,000 and the amount of damages to 880.5 billion won.

For Haru Invest's Chief Operating Officer Kang (39), the court recognized the embezzlement charge and sentenced him to two years in prison, suspended for three years, and 120 hours of community service. The court stated, "All charges that the defendant (Kang) embezzled 360 million won of company funds have been recognized as guilty," and added, "While managing company funds and converting virtual assets to cash, he used the funds for personal purposes."