Judge for Terra-Luna fraud scheme changed

The court in charge of the alleged Terra-Luna cryptocurrency scam changed just a day before the first hearing of Shin Hyun-seung, Terra co-founder and representative of Chai Corporation and a key figure of the fraud. The change was made because it was revealed that the justice in charge of the case had interviewed Shin as a journalist in the past.

On Thursday, the Seoul Southern District Court announced that it changed the court in charge of the case of seven people, including Shin, who was charged with fraud, embezzlement, and breach of occupational duty, from the 13th criminal collegiate division to the 14th division. The Seoul Southern District Court explained that it reassigned the cases based on the comprehensive consideration of the subject matter of the cases and the circumstances of the trial court. Accordingly, the first court hearing initially scheduled at 2 p.m. on Friday, has been postponed. The new court will reschedule after reviewing the case records.

The original justice in charge of the case was reported to have interviewed Shin in 2010 when he was a journalist at The JoongAng Ilbo. Some of the victims of the Terra-Luna scam pointed out that it was inappropriate for the judge to be in charge of the trial and he should recuse himself. Shin was accused of pocketing 462.9 billion won in unjust enrichment in a Ponzi scheme during the Terra-Luna coin crash.


jwhite@donga.com