South Korea is rocked by a disturbing and alarming case involving a murder and kidnapping linked to the crypto universe.
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South Korean prosecutors call for death penalty for “crypto killers“
Last March, tragedy struck in Gangnam, an upmarket district of Seoul. A woman, allegedly linked to a cryptocurrency company and holding a substantial quantity of cryptos, including Bitcoin, was brutally murdered.
The suspects were arrested and then imprisoned, but their version of events changed several times. First they claimed that the death was accidental, but later confessed to having kidnapped the victim and attempted to steal his cryptocurrency holdings.
Faced with this confession, prosecutors called for heavy penalties and even demanded the death penalty for the four people involved.
Lee Kyung-woo is suspected of being the mastermind of this macabre operation, Hwang Dae-han being his main sidekick. Allegedly, the duo were paid by the couple Yoo Sang-won and Hwang Eun-hee to commit the murder.
In addition to the death penalty, a life sentence was requested for Yeon Ji-hoaccused of assisting Lee and Hwang Dae-han.
Defendants escape death
The South Korea has not executed a criminal since 1997, and has clearly not decided to do so in 2023.
Lee Kyung-woo and Hwang Dae-Han were sentenced to life imprisonment. The couple Yoo and Hwang were respectively sentenced to 8 and 6 years in prison.
Is the sentence high enough for a lifetime? Debate is possible, but this case reminds us of one important thing: be careful if you own cryptocurrencies!
As a journalist at Coinpri, I’ve been captivated by the world of bitcoin and blockchain since 2020. The decentralized aspect of Bitcoin particularly piqued my interest. Since then, I’ve been working constantly to spread my knowledge, hoping one day to see a world where everyone fully enjoys their financial freedom.
