A former employee at Coinone, one of South Korea’s top five cryptocurrency exchanges, was arrested on charges of accepting bribes in exchange for listing certain cryptocurrencies on the platform in 2020.

Reporting from Yahoo Finance, the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Office revealed that the former employee, identified by the surname Jeon, received USD 1.47 million or the equivalent of 22.1 billion (assuming an exchange rate of Rp. 15,085 per US dollar) from a broker for registering cryptocurrency. specific on the Coinone trading platform.

The prosecutor’s office confirmed the arrest, but declined to reveal Jeon’s full name due to privacy rules. Seoul prosecutors are also investigating Lee Sang-jun, chief executive of Bithumb’s parent company, the exchange

the country’s second-largest cryptocurrency, on similar charges.

Prosecutors said they have not yet requested an arrest warrant for Lee. A spokesperson for the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Office said the investigation could be expanded to include other local crypto exchanges.

South Korea Steps to Tighten Crypto Penalties

After Terra’s collapse last year, South Korean legislators plan to upgrade the law, placing special emphasis on protecting investors in virtual assets and harsh penalties for illegal trading.

The South Korean Financial Services Commission (FSC) and the National Assembly are working to pass a new law. These regulations allow financial authorities to monitor and punish unfair trading practices such as the use of undisclosed information, price manipulation and fraud when overseeing crypto exchanges.