Hugo Hyungsoo Lee, the CEO of South Korean crypto firm Haru Invest, was attacked and stabbed in the neck multiple times while attending his trial in Seoul.
The incident occurred amid ongoing legal proceedings against Haru Invest executives, who are accused of embezzling $826 million in cryptocurrency from approximately 16,000 users.
The attack took place in the courtroom where Lee was present to face charges related to the suspension of deposits and withdrawals by Haru Invest in June 2023.
The assailant, described as a man in his 40s and a victim of the Haru Invest scandal, reportedly targeted Lee with a small knife from the audience.
Lee was promptly taken to the hospital for treatment.
The Haru Invest case has already drawn significant attention due to the scale of the alleged theft.
Prosecutors charged Lee and other top executives with misappropriating user funds by misrepresenting the company’s investment strategies as risk-free.
This attack shows a troubling trend of physical violence connected to the cryptocurrency world. Recent months have seen a surge in such incidents, including a notable case in Thailand where a gang forcibly acquired $2 million in crypto, and another in Ukraine involving a Bitcoin ransom.
