One of Delio’s largest creditor was fined 1.5 million won for breaking into the home of Jeong Sang-ho, the CEO of the bankrupt crypto lender Delio, and assaulting him.

This incident underscores the growing frustration among investors who have suffered severe financial losses due to the collapse of platforms like Delio and Haru Invest.

The investor, only referred to as Mr. A, reportedly lost 87 BTC (worth 10.9 billion won) and 190 ETH (worth 500 million won) when Delio suspended withdrawals in 2023.

Frustrated by the lack of response to his inquiries about fund recovery, he decided to confront Jeong at his residence. But the interaction quickly went south and escalated into a violent attack and the police were called in.

The Seoul Northern District Prosecutors’ Office has decided that it would be fitting to imposed a summary fine on the counts of breaking in and assault, though Mr. A retains the right to request for a formal trial shoud he dispute the ruling.

Brutal attack of Haru Invest's CEO rekindles worries

This case follows another violent episode involving Haru Invest’s CEO, Lee Hyung-soo, who was brutally stabbed in the neck by an investor during a court hearing after Haru’s collapse left thousands defrauded.

The investor, Mr. Kang reportedly lost 100 BTC when Haru collapsed, allegedly acted out of desperation and anger over his financial loss. The Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' office has demanded a 10-year prison sentence for Kang,citing the severity of the attack.

But Kang's defense team is fighting to lighten the sentencing of the crime to aggravated assault rather than attempted murder, highlighting that the act was done out of impulse due to the emotional stress the victim has been under due to the financial loss.

Haru's CEO Lee revealed that the company is currently focusing on its damage recovery process through Haru's bankruptcy process and he has yet to confirm whether he will seek legal retribution against his attacker.

Similar to Delio, Haru abruptly halted withdrawals in June 2023 and declared bankruptcy in November the same year. The platform promised investors a 16% return although the company was already struggling to stay afloat at the point of time.

South Korea's crackdown on unregistered exchanges, call for regulatory reforms

As public outrage grows, South Korean regulators are clamping down on unregistered crypto exchanges and enforce stricter regulations to prevent further violents.

The South Korean Financial services Commission has initiated investigations into several platforms, including BitMEX, KuCoin, CoinW, Bitunix, and KCEX, for violating Korea's Virtual Asset Service Provider regulations.

Authorities are working with Korea Communications Standards Commission to ban access to these platforms. But as authorities push forward with regulatory reforms, the country's crypto climate remains turbulent.

With investor anger simmering and large exchanges coming charges of fraud, South Korea's crypto space is in the spotlight. While regulators tighten fingers and court weigh, both players in the business and investors wait for more certain direction in a more volatile marketplace.