South Korea Makes First Arrest Tied to Memecoin Rug Pull: report
South Korean prosecutors charged a group in an alleged rug pull involving the Solana-based memecoin Catpie, or CATFI, in what local media described as the countrys first decentralized exchange (DEX) rug-pull prosecution. The group was reportedly apprehended by the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors‘ Office’s Virtual Asset Crime Joint Investigation Division. The main suspect, surnamed Park, allegedly posed as “Eth Father” on social media platforms and falsely promoted CATFI as an independent third-party before executing a rug pull that caused about 900 million won ($599,000) in financial damage to at least 256 investors, local news outlet Digital Asset Works said Wednesday. Prosecutors allege the group promoted CATFI on social media, drove the tokens price up more than 1,000-fold within 26 hours and then sold their holdings for about 400 million won ($260,000) in illegal profit. The move marks South Koreas first arrest tied to a memecoin rug pull under the Virtual Asset User Protection Act and signals that authorities are taking steps against coordinated crypto price manipulation. Rug pulls are deceptive exit scams where the token deployers promote a project to attract outside investment before suddenly abandoning it and selling their funds, causing significant financial losses to later buyers. Cointelegraph reached out to the Supreme Prosecutors