Son of ex-lawmaker ordered to pay W900m in crypto fraud case

The eldest son of former People Power Party lawmaker Tae Yong-ho has been ordered to pay approximately 900 million won in damages to a victim he allegedly defrauded in a virtual asset investment scheme worth 1.4 billion won ($901,000) — one in which he exploited his father's status as a sitting National Assembly member. He is currently in detention and facing criminal trial.

Seoul Central District Court's Civil Division 30, presided over by Judge Kim Seok-beom, ruled in favor of victim A on June 4 in a damages lawsuit filed against Tae. The court ordered Tae to pay 867.97 million won — the full amount of A's investment minus interest payments A had already received.

Tae had been under investigation on suspicion of defrauding seven acquaintances of about 1.4 billion won by falsely promising returns through virtual asset investments. Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office's Criminal Division 8, led by chief prosecutor Kim Ju-hyeon, indicted Tae in May on charges including aggravated fraud under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes, with Tae remaining in detention.

According to facts established by the court in the civil damages case, Tae began deceiving victims around May 2024, promising interest income under the guise of a virtual asset exchange business. After receiving the investment funds, he did not invest them in virtual assets but instead pocketed the money.

During the scheme, victim A and others grew suspicious about whether any actual investment was taking place. Each time, Tae exploited the fact that his father was a National Assembly member, producing family registry documents and family photos as proof of his credibility. When A pressed him, Tae reportedly said, "I'll take care of it," and added, "If this blows up, my dad will kill me."

Tae also leveraged his claimed connections with police.

He told A: "We have police involved in all of this lol"; "The head of the security division just said he'd help if there's a problem"; "I met with a detective today and he said he'd absolutely back us up on security"; "The narcotics detective covering us knows all the gangsters"; and "When my family came to Korea, the strongest detective team in the country was with us."

A only realized she had been defrauded after Tae came under formal police investigation. In February last year, she filed this lawsuit seeking the return of her investment.

The court sided with A. The panel found that "A fell into error due to Tae's deceptive conduct" and that "there is no obstacle to recognizing that damages arose from acts such as the transfer and transmission of investment funds."

The court further concluded that "A was deceived by Tae in connection with the relevant project" and that "Tae bears the obligation to compensate for the investment principal and interest."

The ruling was finalized on June 24 after Tae did not appeal the first-instance decision.

Meanwhile, after controversy over his son first surfaced, Tae Yong-ho told the National Assembly's Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee during a national audit in October 2024: "I am deeply sorry for causing social concern because of my eldest son's conduct."