The Supreme Court has upheld a suspended prison sentence for Lee Sang-joon, former chief executive of Bithumb Holdings, who was charged with accepting luxury goods in return for listing a cryptocurrency on the exchange. Ahn Sung-hyun, the husband of singer Sung Yu-ri of the girl group Fin.K.L, was acquitted.
The court's second division, presided over by Justice Oh Kyung-mi, said on the 12th that it had finalized an appellate ruling sentencing Lee to two years in prison, suspended for three years, along with the forfeiture of 11.525 million won, on charges of taking bribes in breach of trust. The same ruling acquitted Ahn, who had been charged with taking bribes in breach of trust and with fraud under the law on aggravated punishment for specific economic crimes.
A businessman surnamed Kang, who was charged with offering the money and gifts along with the requests, received one year in prison, suspended for two years. Song, an official at a coin issuer, was acquitted. Both rulings were also finalized.
Prosecutors alleged that in 2021 Lee and Ahn received 3 billion won in cash and two luxury watches worth a combined 400 million won from Kang and others, in exchange for listing a coin identified as Coin A on the Bithumb exchange. Ahn was also accused of separately taking and pocketing 2 billion won as payment for arranging the listing. Ahn, who turned professional as a golfer in 2005 and served as a coach for the national golf team's reserve squad from 2014 to 2018, drew public attention when he married Sung in 2017.
The trial court had sentenced Ahn to four years and six months in prison, Lee to two years along with the forfeiture of 50.025 million won, and Kang to one year and six months. Song was acquitted.
The appellate court, however, found Ahn not guilty on all counts and reduced the sentences for Lee and Kang to suspended terms. It gave Lee two years in prison, suspended for three years, plus the forfeiture of 11.525 million won, and Kang one year in prison, suspended for two years. It upheld the acquittal of Song.
The Supreme Court let the appellate ruling stand.
Original reporting by Kim Sung-tae for Seoul Economic Daily.
AI-translated from Korean. Quotes from foreign sources are based on Korean-language reports and may not reflect exact original wording.
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