A South Korean crypto executive, Hugo Hyungsoo Lee, CEO of Haru Invest, was violently attacked in court during the ongoing fraud trial involving his company. The shocking incident occurred in a Seoul courtroom, where Lee was repeatedly stabbed in the neck by a disgruntled victim of the alleged $826 million fraud.
The attacker, identified as a man in his 40s, sprang from his seat in the courtroom and launched the attack with a small knife, targeting Lee in a fit of rage. The assault left Lee critically injured, and he was immediately rushed to the hospital for emergency treatment.
Haru Invest, a crypto-earning platform, has been under intense scrutiny since it abruptly suspended withdrawals in June 2023. This suspension followed accusations that three top executives, including Lee, had misappropriated digital assets belonging to around 16,000 users. Prosecutors allege that the executives falsely claimed to operate a stable business with “risk-free diversified investment techniques,” while in reality, they reinvested customer deposits recklessly, leading to the massive loss.
This attack on Lee highlights a disturbing trend of physical violence linked to the volatile world of cryptocurrency. In recent months, similar incidents have been reported globally. Notably, a gang in Thailand forced a victim to transfer $2 million in crypto at gunpoint, and a group in Ukraine kidnapped a Bitcoin holder, demanding a ransom in digital currency before leaving him for dead.
As the Haru Invest trial continues, the crypto community is left grappling with the growing threat of physical attacks, adding a new layer of danger to an already high-risk industry.