14 Suspected South Korean ‘Kimchi Premium’ Crypto Traders Cleared
South Korean prosecutors have suffered a blow in their efforts to shut down kimchi premium crypto traders – with 14 suspects cleared of wrongdoing.
Officials accused 16 people of illegally remitting $3.2 billion worth of assets, including crypto, fiat, and goods.
Newsis reported that two of the group were found guilty of minor offenses. A court gave one a 12-month jail sentence. The court gave the other a six-month prison term.
Seoul Central District Court acquitted 14 of the individuals. The group included an individual prosecutors suspected of masterminding the operation.
Prosecutors are trying to hunt down crypto traders they suspect of exploiting crypto exchange prices to the tune of around $6.5 billion.
The District Court rejected the prosecution’s case. The court stated the case was largely based on Supreme Court precedent rulings, rather than acts of law.
But the prosecution service said it was “dissatisfied” with the court’s ruling, and has already submitted an appeal request.
The case will now proceed to the High Court, with prosecutors confident of securing a more favorable verdict.
The kimchi premium is a phenomenon that sees Bitcoin (BTC) and altcoins trade on South Korean exchanges at much higher prices than on international platforms.
The phenomenon frequently occurs when demand rises in the South Korean retail investment market.
Many traders have tried to exploit this. Typically, they buy coins from foreign over-the-counter vendors. They then effectively “dump” these coins on domestic platforms.
During the 2017 bull run, the premium peaked at around 55%, before returning to rise near the 20% mark during the 2020-2021 bull run.
While this type of trading may be unethical, the South Korean legal community is divided
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