Celebrities, former congressmen, etc. invested tens of millions of won in investment promotions and suffered damages one after another, including GDG-W Coin, and others are being sued.
A promotional image of the ‘Golden Goal (GDG) Coin’ featuring celebrities such as former national soccer players. Reader provided
“I have no connection whatsoever with the coin.”
Former national soccer player Lee Cheon-soo (43) posted this statement on his YouTube channel on the 12th about the virtual asset ‘Golden Goal (GDG)’ coin, which was recently under investigation on suspicion of investment fraud. The company that operated GDG Coin raised investment funds through celebrities such as Mr. Lee, and refuted claims made by some that Mr. Lee was involved. The police believe that Mr. Lee did not participate in recruiting coin investors, but investors continued to say, “I trusted Mr. Lee and entrusted my money to the company.” Concerns about ‘scam coins’ featuring celebrities are also growing.
● “I invested believing in the story of ‘joining a sports star’”
According to Dong-A Ilbo’s coverage on the 15th, the Gimpo Police Station in Gyeonggi Province plans to transfer Mr. Kim, the CEO of the GDG Coin operating company and Mr. Choi, an associate, who were accused of fraud, to the prosecution with a recommendation to indict in the near future. The police began investigating around January of last year after receiving a complaint that Mr. Kim and others received approximately 3 billion won from dozens of people in the name of investing in GDG Coin starting around March 2021 and did not return it.
It is said that this company attracted investors by promoting the participation of players from the national team in GDG Coin. Investor Mr. Yoo (32) claimed, “Mr. Lee was listed as a director on GDG Coin’s official website, and I invested 60 million won, believing (the company) that other 2002 World Cup members would also join the business.” . In May of last year, Mr. Kim lost a lawsuit filed by another investor demanding the return of 50 million won in principal and was ordered to compensate.
Mr. Lee said, “(Mr. Kim) proposed holding a youth soccer tournament and allowed me to use the image rights only for that, but after that, he continued to use me for publicity,” and “After that, I protested, ‘Please take down (my photo),’ and he actually did. “We did not collaborate,” he explained. The police reportedly investigated Mr. Lee as a reference and concluded internally that he was not suspected of participating in the crime. In a phone call with this newspaper on the 13th, Mr. Choi claimed, “I was also deceived (by Mr. Kim) and I am not an accomplice.” Mr. Kim did not respond to the reporting team’s request for explanation.
● “We need to regulate the promotion of virtual assets by celebrities like the United States and the United Kingdom.”
There are increasing reports of damage from investing in virtual assets promoted by celebrities and not receiving the principal back. A representative example is W Coin, which is suspected of attracting investors by promoting the participation of former lawmakers, high-ranking police officers, and major YouTubers. Complaints complaining of damage were filed at several police stations, and the Financial Services Commission has requested the National Police Agency to investigate.
When allegations were raised that Mr. A, a famous idol-turned-singer, had acted as a public relations ambassador for B Pay, another virtual asset suspected of being a scam coin, he said on the 12th, “I have nothing to do with B Pay and have never been appointed as a public relations ambassador.” explained. When a company in which he appeared as an advertising model was sent to the prosecution on charges of coin fraud, famous actor C said, “I signed a (model) contract thinking it was a group advertisement, not a virtual asset.”
It is difficult for ordinary investors to judge the intrinsic value of virtual assets, so it is easy to be swayed by publicity using celebrities. Accordingly, there is a need to create clear regulations for virtual asset promotion and apply them in the field, but there are no related guidelines in Korea.
On the other hand, overseas, there is a movement to regulate celebrity promotion related to virtual assets. The French National Assembly passed a law in March last year prohibiting influencers from promoting companies that do not receive government permission. Violation can result in two years in prison and a fine of 30,000 euros (approximately 43.03 million won). In the UK, only people approved by the authorities can promote virtual assets according to established rules. In March of last year, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) also sanctioned celebrities who promoted virtual assets but did not disclose the price in return, on charges of fraud. Kim Hyeong-joong, a professor at Korea University’s Graduate School of Information Security, said, “Regulations on the issuance of virtual currencies need to be strengthened. As regulations are focused on distribution, anyone is issuing fake coins or even committing fraud without issuing them.”
Reporter Son Jun-young hand@donga.com
Reporter Choi Won-young o0@donga.com
