The Seoul Southern District Court in South Korea has ruled that Cross Finance, an online investment financial company, must pay approximately $234,000 in damages to the cryptocurrency exchange Coinone. The ruling stems from a contract dispute over an investment product linked to Cross Finance, with Coinone claiming it was misled or defrauded during the investment process.
According to the court's judgment, Coinone began subscribing to Cross Finance's related investment products in November 2023 on the recommendation of a Cross Finance representative identified as Kwak. From then until early August 2024, Coinone maintained an investment amount ranging between approximately 1 billion and 4 billion Korean won. However, the product experienced its first repayment delay on August 5, 2024, breaking the previous normal payout cycle.
The court found that the repayment delay was directly caused by a massive fraud case involving Lumen Payments, which amounted to 70 billion Korean won and significantly impacted Cross Finance's cash flow. Based on this, Coinone sought to annul the investment contract on grounds of fraud or misunderstanding and demanded the return of its invested funds.
Notably, prior to this contract-rescission lawsuit, Coinone had already filed a separate unjust enrichment claim against Cross Finance seeking 900 million Korean won. The latest court ruling on the contract dispute further clarifies Cross Finance's liability to Coinone for damages arising from the default of the investment product, and provides a judicial reference for similar disputes between crypto exchanges and financial investment firms in South Korea.