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| Rep. Baek Hye-ryun from main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, center, presides over a National Assembly audit session in Seoul, Oct. 13. Joint Press Corps-Yonhap |
By Lee Min-hyung
Lawmakers are moving to bring charges against Korean crypto magnates for not appearing after being summoned as witnesses to the National Assembly's annual audit regarding the recent Luna debacle.
The moguls include former Bithumb Holdings Chairman Lee Jung-hoon, Hashed CEO Simon Kim, Terraform Labs co-founder Shin Hyun-sung, also known as Daniel Shin, and Kang Jong-hyun who is known as the de facto owner of Bithumb, the nation's second largest cryptocurrency exchange.
The Assembly summoned all of the ranking crypto figures on Monday to question them about the details of their involvement in the abrupt meltdown of the now-collapsed Luna cryptocurrency.
But none of them appeared for the Assembly's annual audit, citing health reasons.
"The former Bithumb chairman submitted a written statement for his absence once again, even if he exudes enormous influence on the exchange as a major shareholder," Rep. Min Byung-duk from main opposition Democratic Party of Korea said. "He cited health reasons and ongoing lawsuits, but he is scheduled to attend a trial the following day."
"The medical certificate he sent us shows that he needs to receive drug treatment for more than three months, but the diagnosis date was 19 months ago," the lawmaker said. "I request the Assembly to proceed with bringing criminal charges against him for his shameless behavior (by not attending the audit)."
Rep. Baek Hye-ryun from the party also stepped up criticism of their respective absences, and pledged to take stern measures against them.
"Most lawmakers from the Assembly's political affairs committee will agree with the necessity of getting the facts straight over the Terra-Luna fiasco this year," she said. "But it appears unreasonable for them to submit written statements for their absence. We should take all the relevant measures by bringing charges against them at the National Assembly level."
The abrupt collapse of the Terra-Luna ecosystem left investors with losses of around 50 trillion won across the globe. Following the incident, the whereabouts of Do Kwon, the developer of the ecosystem, remains unknown.
