South Korean Lawmaker Criticizes Delays in KOK Trial Involving 570,000 People

South Korean Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Dong-ah criticized delays in the KOK coin trial at an Oct. 20 National Assembly audit, raising concerns about a case involving about 570,000 people and about 2.5 trillion won in investment funds.

The Ulsan District Court has held about 24 hearings without reaching a verdict. Kim also raised the release on bail of a principal defendant.

The defendants are accused of raising funds from 2019 through 2023 through multilevel marketing while promising to protect investors’ principal and deliver high returns. The alleged scheme also involved promoting KOK for use on digital content platforms for films, games and webcomics, though the related businesses allegedly lacked substantive operations.

The head of the Ulsan District Court said the case has about 60 witnesses and that about one-third have been questioned. The court head cited complex testimony as a reason for the pace of the proceedings and said the trial would continue.