The saga of the Bitsonic CEO fraud has escalated with Shin Jin-wook's second prison sentence, underscoring the fragility of investor trust in crypto exchanges in South Korea.
New Conviction and Its Impact
As of August 5, 2025, Shin was convicted by the Seoul District Court for misappropriating over ₩160 million KRW (approximately $115,000 USD). Prosecutors claimed he manipulated the prices of Bitsonic Coin (BSC) and funneled funds for personal investments. Judge Seong Gi-jun remarked, *“Though the damage was smaller than in the prior case, the defendant’s repeated deception undermines trust in financial markets.”* The court added six months to Shin’s existing prison sentence.
Fraud Timeline
The Bitsonic CEO fraud did not occur in isolation. In 2024, Shin and the exchange’s CTO, surnamed Bae, were convicted for defrauding customers out of 10 billion KRW (~$7.5 million). The scheme ran from 2019 to 2021 and included fake trading volumes and misleading token price data. South Korea’s prosecutors revealed that Shin used false announcements and rigged transactions to spur trading interest, allowing them to offload BSC tokens at inflated prices.
Industry Response to the Scandal
The Bitsonic CEO fraud has reignited discussions surrounding crypto regulation in South Korea. Local lawmakers recently enacted the Virtual Asset User Protection Act, granting regulators greater authority to freeze assets and investigate exchanges. A crypto policy analyst at SeoulTech, Min Ji-hoon, stated, *“Bitsonic’s case proves why oversight is vital. This isn’t just a black eye, it’s a systemic failure that affects investor confidence in all Korean exchanges.” Many investors have expressed frustration over repeated failures to detect the fraud early.
The Bitsonic CEO fraud scandal illustrates the dark sides of unregulated or poorly managed crypto exchanges. As Shin Jin-wook faces his second sentence, regulators are moving to tighten legal frameworks. This case could serve as a landmark precedent for future fraud prosecutions in the digital asset sector. For now, however, South Korean investors are left with damaged trust and hopes for stricter enforcement moving forward.
