South Korean ‘Crypto Killers’ May Face Death Penalty

Oct 16, 2023

By Tim Alper | @tim-alper

South Korean prosecutors have requested the death penalty for four suspects in a crypto murder-kidnap case that saw a woman abducted and murdered for her crypto holdings.

The incident took place in the affluent Gangnam District in Seoul in March this year.

The woman is believed to have worked at a crypto-related firm and held large amounts of tokens, such as Bitcoin (BTC).

Suspects at the trial in Seoul Central District Court claimed the woman’s death was an accident, but have variously confessed to kidnapping the victim and attempting to steal her coins.

South Korea has not executed a convicted criminal since 1997.

But the nation has never formally abolished the death penalty.

Almost 60 people remain on death row at the time of writing.

Police arrested and charged seven people shortly after the woman’s body was found abandoned near a dam in the city of Daejeon days after her abduction.

Prosecutors say that Lee Kyung-woo was the crime’s mastermind, with Hwang Dae-han his alleged main accomplice.

Lee Kyung-woo appears outside a court in Seoul, South Korea. (Source: KBS/YouTube)

And they think the duo was paid to commit the crime by a couple named Yoo Sang-won and Hwang Eun-hee.

The prosecution asked the court to issue all four with the death penalty, Newsis reported.

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