Jonbur Kim Is Acquitted in Seoul Case Involving

A South Korean court on Thursday acquitted Park, the crypto influencer widely known as "Jonbur Kim," of fraud and related charges in a case involving about 340 billion won in token sales. The Seoul Southern District Court issued the not-guilty verdict in the first trial, on October 15, 2026. The case centered on two tokens, Podo Coin and Atube (also spelled Artube). Reports convert the amount to between roughly $230 million and $253 million.

Prosecutors accused Park, 45, of masterminding a scheme to issue and list the two tokens and take money from investors through false disclosures and price manipulation. SBS News reported that prosecutors put the losses at about 80.9 billion won for Podo Coin and about 260 billion won for Atube. Park became widely known in South Korea by showing off expensive cars and other luxuries on social media and online forums, and by saying he made his fortune in the coin business.

The court said the promotions for the projects may have misrepresented their actual progress, business prospects and use of funds. It ruled, however, that prosecutors had not proved that individual investors bought the tokens because of those claims, so the fraud charge could not stand. It also found insufficient evidence for the accusations that Park manipulated token prices and misappropriated proceeds from the Podo Coin sales. The court acquitted Han, 42, the representative of Podo Coin's issuer, Enterblock, as well as Moon, the head of a platform developer tied to the Atube coin.

The ruling was not a complete win for the defense. Two other defendants were given suspended prison sentences for submitting false materials during the exchange Coinone's listing review, which the court said interfered with the exchange's screening. One received four months, suspended for one year, and the other received six months, suspended for two years. Because the acquittal came in the first trial, the case may still move to appeal. The reports I found did not say whether prosecutors plan to appeal, and one outlet noted that investors who lost money on the tokens will not receive compensation as a result of the ruling. Details come from SBS News, TokenPost and CoinTurk.