{"id":89802,"date":"2024-02-15T22:07:38","date_gmt":"2024-02-16T03:07:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ifintechworld.com\/?p=89802"},"modified":"2024-02-15T22:07:39","modified_gmt":"2024-02-16T03:07:39","slug":"k-pop-stars-deny-south-korean-scam-coin-involvement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ifintechworld.com\/?p=89802","title":{"rendered":"K-pop Stars Deny South Korean \u2018Scam Coin\u2019 Involvement"},"content":{"rendered":"
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K-pop stars Choi Si-won and Cho Hyun-young have denied allegations that they were involved in promoting so-called South Korean \u201cscam coins.\u201d<\/p>\n

Their denials come amid ongoing controversy and suspicions surrounding the blockchain-powered sports platform Winnerz.<\/p>\n

A growing number of top-level South Korean YouTubers and celebrities have been linked to the controversy since anonymous crypto investors accused Winnerz of running a \u201cmulti-level fraud\u201d scheme.<\/p>\n

K-pop Stars Say They Have \u2018No Connection\u2019 With Crypto \u2018Fraudsters\u2019<\/h2>\n

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Choi Si-won, also known mononymously as Siwon, is a member of the chart-topping K-pop group Super Junior.<\/p>\n

Cho Hyun-young, also known mononymously as Hyunyoung, is a former member of the all-female K-pop group Rainbow.<\/p>\n

In recent years, both Choi and Cho have become YouTubers, amassing over half a million and 278,000 subscribers respectively. In a community post on her YouTube page, Cho wrote:<\/p>\n

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\u201cI have nothing to do with the current controversy related to [\u2026] Winnerz Coin.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Cho Hyun-young in the music video for the Rainbow single \u201cWhoo\u201d in 2016. (Source: Rainbow\/DSP Media\/YouTube)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Scores of celebrities, including the World Cup semi-finalist soccer star Lee Chun-soo and some of South Korea\u2019s most popular YouTube and social media influencers, have been implicated in Winnerz-related controversy this month.<\/p>\n

However, it appears that the allegations surrounding Cho and Choi center on another suspected \u201cscam coin\u201d named The Youth Pay (TYP).<\/p>\n

What Is \u2018The Youth Pay\u2019 Coin?<\/h2>\n

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The Youth Pay is an Ethereum-based coin and is the brainchild of an organization that calls itself the Korea Youth Commission.<\/p>\n

Its organizers claim that the coin is a tool created to help promote a youth-related policy to the government and the South Korean National Assembly.<\/p>\n

The Korea Youth Committee awarded both Choi Si-won and Cho with certificates in 2022, a fact that has caused many to question if they or other K-pop stars were paid to promote TYP.<\/p>\n

Cho Hyun-young in a video on her YouTube channel in 2023. (Source: Just Hyunyoung\/YouTube)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The masterminds launched the token in March 2022, apparently hoping to market it as a payment platform not unlike the popular Seoul government-run ZeroPay e-payments solution.<\/p>\n

The organizers managed to secure an overseas crypto exchange listing for The Youth Pay, but its value has since plummeted to zero.<\/p>\n

Photos Link Star to Case?<\/h2>\n

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Multiple investors have claimed that The Youth Pay is a rug-pull type \u201cscam,\u201d and police investigators are thought to have launched a probe.<\/p>\n

Photos have emerged of Cho with an individual linked to the TYP coin in the past few days, causing many to question her relationship with the token.<\/p>\n

The Youth Pay (TYP) prices since the token\u2019s launch in March 2022. (Source: CoinCarp)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Alleged \u2018Scam Coin\u2019 Projects Linked?<\/h2>\n

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It is unclear at this stage if Winnerz-linked scam coins and the Youth Pay project are connected.<\/p>\n

However, police in the city of Gimpo made two arrests in conjunction with suspected scam coins cases this week.<\/p>\n

The officers appear to have arrested the mastermind of a soccer-themed token named Golden Goal (GDG).<\/p>\n

South Korean crypto community members claim that an individual named Choi Seung-jung masterminded the GDG project.<\/p>\n

Choi Seung-jung is also thought to have links to Winnerz. The firm has denied allegations that the Winnerz token WNZ is a scam coin.<\/p>\n

Winnerz said that WNZ is currently\u00a0 \u201cin the process\u201d of gaining a domestic exchange listing.<\/p>\n

K-Pop Stars Deny Claims: Super Juinor Singer Says He Did Nothing Wrong<\/h2>\n

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Choi Si-won, meanwhile, took to his Community tab on YouTube to write, both in Korean and English:<\/p>\n

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\u201cI wish to express explicitly that I have no involvement [in] the controversy surrounding the Korea Youth Committee\u2019s [The] Youth Pay. I have never been appointed as an ambassador for the Korea Youth Committee\u2019s [The] Youth Pay.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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#SuperJunior<\/a>\u2019s #ChoiSiwon<\/a> Denies Allegations Of Involvement In Coin Fraudhttps:\/\/t.co\/jryMAM3gL1 pic.twitter.com\/ZmatsDzJGj<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Soompi (@soompi) February 13, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The Super Junior member said that it was true that he had \u201creceived an award at a ceremony organized by the Korea Youth Committee.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, he said this \u201cwas in recognition of setting a good example for the youth.\u201d<\/p>\n

The award, he said, was \u201cunrelated to the current controversy,\u201d and the singer said he had \u201cno involvement in the Korea Youth Committee\u2019s Youth Pay or any individual\u2019s political activities.\u201d<\/p>\n

Super Junior performing on stage in 2015. (Source: mduangdara [CC BY-SA 2.0])<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Cho, however, admitted that she had been appointed a Korea Youth Committee ambassador. But she said that she had \u201cnever promoted The Youth Pay.\u201d<\/p>\n

She also claimed that she had no relationship with the TYP official she was photographed with.<\/p>\n

The singer said that she had merely posed for a photo with the individual because she is a \u201cfriendly person\u201d who had responded to the individual\u2019s \u201crequest.\u201d The star wrote:<\/p>\n

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\u201cAs the articles and photos in question are causing controversy and suspicion about me, I am preparing a criminal complaint against the officials of the Korea Youth Committee. I am taking the advice of a lawyer on this matter. [\u2026] I have never participated in [\u2026] coin fraud.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n