Pureun “Ian” Hong
MP ian@decentlaw.ioIan served as criminal law expert at YK Lawfirm, handling various corporate litigations including private fund investments, STOs, and capital markets.
- Criminal
- Class Action
- Crypto
- Real Estate Disputes · Construction
- Entertainment
Related News
-
BlogsIllegal Investment Advisory Fraud in Korea: The Longer You Wait, the Less Likely You Are to Recover Your Money
Reports of fraud involving unlicensed investment advisory services — operating through KakaoTalk group chats, Telegram channels, and YouTube — are increasing rapidly. What appears on the surface to be legitimate investment advice is frequently a structure in which an unregistered operator collects high fees while generating losses for clients. When fraud of this kind occurs, failing to pursue both criminal complaint and civil recovery strategy from the outset means that with every passing day, the money, the evidence, and the perpetrators become harder to find. When Does Unlicensed Investment Advisory Become a Legal Problem? Unlicensed investment advisory services differ from properly registered advisory firms in that they provide investment information to an unspecified number of people through standardized channels in exchange for payment. The problem arises when operators go beyond this — effectively directing specific buy and sell decisions on individual stocks — without any license or registration, and accepting no responsibility for investment losses. Common characteristics include the following. Specific stock recommendations and buy/sell timing instructions delivered through KakaoTalk or Telegram group chats, text messages, or YouTube High fees charged under the guise of monthly membership, access rights, or performance commissions Exaggerated past return figures and repeated use of fabricated profit verification images When losses occur, telling clients to deposit more money with promises that losses can be recovered At this point, the conduct may already give rise to criminal fraud charges, violations of the Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act, and violations of the Act on the Regulation of Similar Receiving of Funds. Why a Criminal Complaint Should Come First Many victims' instinct is to begin with a refund request or a formal letter of demand. However, a significant number of unlicensed advisory operators use borrowed corporate identities or accounts registered in other people's names, repeatedly dissolve and re-establish entities, and move funds through overseas servers or cryptocurrency — all designed to make tracing extremely difficult. For this reason, where losses have reached a meaningful level, filing a criminal complaint promptly is the most effective way to compel investigators to trace account flows, identify co-conspirators, and prevent further harm to other victims. Securing the suspect's financial records, communications history, and immigration records through the criminal process also creates a significantly stronger position for any subsequent civil litigation or settlement negotiation. Preparing for a Criminal Complaint: What to Gather If you are seriously considering filing a complaint, organizing the following materials in advance will make the process considerably more effective. • How you were recruited: when you joined, and what advertisement or referral led you to the service • Conversation records: complete screenshots of group chat and one-on-one messages, particularly any statements guaranteeing returns or directing specific trades • Transaction records: all payment records for fees and commissions, including transfer confirmations showing the recipient account details • Trading history: the stocks recommended by the operator and your actual buy and sell records, along with the total loss incurred • Other victims: information about others who joined through the same channel or participated in the same group (important for coordinated complaints) This material gives investigators a concrete basis for understanding the structure of the operation and assessing whether fraud or unlicensed advisory activity occurred. Decent Law Firm's Digital Asset Team Allowing time to pass when losses have already occurred only benefits the other side. Detailed criminal complaint drafting: We identify and build the case for every applicable charge — including fraud and unlicensed fund solicitation — beyond the base Capital Markets Act violation, with the goal of securing a strong investigative response. Parallel civil recovery strategy: Alongside the criminal complaint, we pursue civil measures including provisional attachment and damages claims to freeze remaining assets and maximize recovery prospects. Coordinated complaint support: Where multiple victims are involved, we coordinate group filings to increase the scale of the case and elevate its priority within the investigative process. If you are unsure which materials to gather first, or whether a criminal complaint or civil claim should take priority, Decent Law Firm's digital asset team is ready to work through the facts with you from the very beginning and map out a strategy for your situation.
2026-04-01 -
Blogs
Capital Markets Act Violations in Korea: Why Legal Counsel Is Essential From the Very First Investigation
Following the expansion of the FSS Special Judicial Police's independent investigative authority in 2026, an FSS inquiry is now effectively the start of a criminal investigation. In Capital Markets Act cases, unlike ordinary criminal matters, statements made and documents submitted at the earliest stage become direct evidence at trial. What Constitutes a Capital Markets Act Violation? It is easy to assume that a losing trade was simply bad luck. But the legal standards applied to capital markets conduct are highly precise. The most common categories of violation include the following. • Use of material non-public information (insider trading): trading on information obtained through one's professional role before it is publicly disclosed. • Market manipulation: artificially distorting share prices through coordinated trading activity — what is commonly referred to as a "stock operation." • Fraudulent transactions and false disclosure: deceiving investors by misrepresenting or omitting material information. • Unlicensed operations: conducting investment brokerage, investment advisory, or fund-related activities without the required authorization. These cases typically move from FSS investigation to prosecution, and are treated as serious criminal offenses that can result in pre-trial detention, custodial sentences, and significant disgorgement orders. Why a Capital Markets Act Defense Lawyer Is Necessary Capital Markets Act cases cannot be handled on the basis of general criminal law knowledge alone. They require a thorough understanding of equities, derivatives, and fund structures, as well as the ability to interpret financial data — including trading records from HTS and MTS platforms, order book and execution patterns, and account flow analysis. Investigators focus not on outcomes but on trading intent and market impact. Rebutting those assessments requires a strategy grounded in a genuine understanding of securities market practice. A single statement made in an early interview can become a central piece of evidence at trial. Deciding what to say, what documents to produce, and which points to defend requires strategic design from the very beginning — and that is precisely what a specialist lawyer must provide. A Stage-by-Stage Defense Strategy • Stage 1: FSS and Exchange Investigation At this stage, investigators request a broad range of materials including account records, call logs, and messaging history. How the direction of responses is set here determines the position taken in any subsequent prosecution. • Stage 2: Prosecution Based on the materials gathered, prosecutors assess whether a specific legal violation occurred. The central questions are whether the conduct constituted ordinary investment activity, market manipulation, or insider trading. • Stage 3: Trial At trial, trading pattern analysis, expert opinion evidence, and the adequacy of internal compliance systems all become relevant in contesting criminal intent and the scope of liability. All three stages are part of a single connected process. A consistent strategy from beginning to end is essential. How to Evaluate a Capital Markets Act Defense Lawyer Selecting a lawyer based solely on general criminal defense experience is a significant risk in Capital Markets Act cases. It is important to confirm whether the lawyer has direct experience handling insider trading, market manipulation, and false disclosure cases, and whether they have been involved in shaping strategy from the FSS investigation stage onward. Experience interpreting financial and accounting data, familiarity with corporate governance and internal decision-making structures, and the ability to manage competing interests among co-respondents are all relevant factors. Capital Markets Act cases affect not only the outcome of the criminal proceedings but also the scale of any disgorgement order, eligibility to work in the financial industry, and long-term career prospects. The choice of lawyer has direct consequences for all of these. If you have received notice of an FSS investigation or a request to appear before prosecutors, drafting a statement unilaterally or aligning positions internally without legal advice is not the right approach. The first step is to organize the facts and underlying materials, and then develop a strategy with experienced counsel. Decent Law Firm's defense team — with extensive practical experience in financial and capital markets matters — reviews each case directly. We provide a consistent and carefully considered defense strategy from the FSS investigation stage through to trial, protecting our clients' assets and rights throughout. The assumption that "it surely won't go as far as criminal charges" is often the most dangerous one. If you are concerned about a potential Capital Markets Act issue, we encourage you to seek advice before it is too late — and to get an accurate assessment of your situation and the options available to you.
2026-04-01 -
Blogs
Drug-Related Emergency Arrest in Korea: The First 48 Hours Determine Everything
The 48 hours immediately following a drug-related emergency arrest are when the decision on pre-trial detention — and the direction of the entire criminal process — is made. Receiving a sudden call that a family member has been arrested on drug charges can feel overwhelming. Police, detention facilities, interrogation rooms — words that once felt distant become an immediate reality. But a drug-related emergency arrest is not just a detention. It is the starting point that can determine the course of what follows. What Is an Emergency Arrest? An emergency arrest (긴급체포) allows law enforcement to detain a suspect without a warrant under exceptional circumstances. It applies when the suspected offense carries a serious statutory penalty — such as a violation of the Narcotics Control Act — and when there is a significant risk of flight or destruction of evidence, with no time to obtain a warrant. In practice, drug cases in Korea more commonly begin with an emergency arrest than with an ordinary arrest warrant. Because this procedure is an exception to the general warrant requirement, there is room to challenge the legality of the arrest if the statutory conditions were not properly met. The Most Important Number: 48 Hours An emergency arrest may last no longer than 48 hours. Within that window, investigators move quickly to secure core evidence. This includes interrogation and attempts to obtain a confession, mobile phone forensics and search of the suspect's residence, and urine and hair tests for drug detection. Based on what is gathered, the prosecutor decides whether to seek a detention warrant. If a warrant is requested, the court holds a warrant review hearing, at which the risk of flight, risk of evidence destruction, and seriousness of the offense are all weighed to determine whether pre-trial detention is warranted. The posture taken during those first 48 hours — whether legal counsel was consulted, what was said in the first interview, and what materials the family prepared — can mean the difference between being released for investigation and being held in custody. The Legality of the Arrest Must Also Be Examined Decent Law Firm's criminal defense team begins every case by reviewing whether the arrest itself was lawful. Key questions include: Was the arrest based solely on an unverified tip, without sufficient objective evidence? Did the suspect have a stable residence and employment, and had they shown a willingness to cooperate with investigators — making an emergency arrest unnecessary? Was there genuinely no time to obtain a warrant? In drug cases, the mobile phone record, financial transaction history, and the results of urine and hair tests all interact to establish the overall picture. An early statement given without careful consideration is extremely difficult to walk back later. The first few answers given in the initial interview frequently appear verbatim in court proceedings at the trial stage. What the Family Should Do Right Now Calling investigators repeatedly to make emotional appeals, or inadvertently describing the suspect's daily habits and personal circumstances in detail, only provides investigators with additional leads. What is needed now is not emotional persuasion — it is prompt legal assistance. Identify the police station where the suspect is being held and confirm the nature of the charges. Find out the schedule for the interrogation and consult a lawyer before any visit. Retaining a defense attorney with experience in criminal and drug cases — one who can be present from the very first interview — is the single most important step. Decent Law Firm's Criminal Defense Team A drug-related emergency arrest is a serious crisis for anyone involved. But the outcome can vary dramatically depending on how that crisis is managed, even when the underlying facts are the same. Decent Law Firm's criminal defense team handles the full process — from immediately after the emergency arrest, through the detention warrant hearing, and on to trial. If you or a family member is currently subject to a drug-related emergency arrest, do not spend time searching for answers alone. Contact us as soon as possible.
2026-03-31
