South Korean prosecutors have asked the court to sentence a man to 10 years in prison for stabbing the CEO of local crypto custody firm Haru Invest during a court hearing in August 2024.
The Seoul Southern District Prosecutor's Office confirmed with The Block that it requested the sentencing during Wednesday's final hearing for the courtroom assault, considering the gravity of the crime.
The attacker, aged 51 and identified by his surname Kang, stabbed Haru Invest chief Lee Hyung-soo in the neck several times with a fruit knife. Lee was quickly taken to the hospital but did not sustain life-threatening injuries.
The incident occurred during Lee's court hearing on multiple fraud-related charges. Lee was allegedly involved in a fraud scheme that extracted 1.4 trillion Korean won (roughly $962 million) from around 16,000 investors in and outside of South Korea.
From March 2020 to June 2023, Haru Invest allegedly lured the investors by promising a full return of principal with interest of up to 16%, despite being in a state of capital impairment since 2019, according to the prosecutor's office. Haru abruptly suspended deposits and withdrawals on June 13, 2023, and declared bankruptcy in November last year.
Kang lost 100 BTC (worth $8.3 million) that he deposited in Haru, local news outlet Digital Asset reported.
Kang's lawyer reportedly said during Wednesday's final hearing that the severe financial damage led Kang to explode emotionally and commit the crime in a moment of impulse, adding that his crime should be considered as aggravated assault, not attempted murder.
Meanwhile, Haru CEO Lee reportedly said during Kang's court hearing last December that he needed more time to consider whether his attacker should receive legal punishment. Lee also said that he is working to recover damages with the bankruptcy process.
The court sentencing for Kang is scheduled for April 4.
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