PANews October 15 news, according to South Korean media Digital Asset, cryptocurrency market manipulator "Jonber Kim" (phonetic transliteration, Mr. Park), who was indicted on charges including involvement in a cryptocurrency fraud case worth approximately 340 billion Korean won (about $230 million), was acquitted on October 15 in the first-instance ruling by the Seoul Southern District Court.
The court held that although the defendant may have engaged in false advertising regarding the substance of the POD (Grape Coin) and ATT (Atube) projects, prosecutors failed to prove a causal relationship between the relevant conduct and individual investors falling into a mistaken belief and purchasing the tokens; the allegations of manipulating token prices and misappropriating proceeds from the sale of Grape Coin were also not sufficiently supported by evidence. However, the other two defendants were sentenced to 4 months in prison with a 1-year suspended sentence, and 6 months in prison with a 2-year suspended sentence, respectively, for submitting false materials during the Coinone listing review process and obstructing the exchange's review work.