TL;DR:
- South Korean prosecutors requested a 20-year prison sentence for Delio’s CEO over the embezzlement of 250 billion won in crypto assets.
- The case involves around 2,800 users affected by the abrupt suspension of withdrawals at Delio in June 2023, which lasted two years.
- The Seoul Southern District Court is scheduled to issue its first-instance verdict on July 16, 2026.
Prosecutors in South Korea requested a 20-year prison sentence for Jeong Sang-ho, chief executive officer of Delio, a crypto asset deposit service that in June 2023 abruptly suspended customer withdrawals.
The request was filed during closing arguments before the Seoul Southern District Court, where prosecutors accused Jeong of violating the Act on Aggravated Punishment for Specific Economic Crimes, according to a report by Yonhap News Agency.
According to the report, prosecutors alleged that Jeong’s actions during Delio’s operations resulted in the embezzlement of approximately 250 billion won, equivalent to around $168.8 million, in crypto assets belonging to nearly 2,800 victims, over a two-year period spanning August 2021 to June 2023. They further argued that the defendant engaged in deceptive conduct and false promotion, and that he compounded the losses suffered by victims by evading responsibility and maintaining an attitude described as “uncooperative” throughout the judicial process.
The Collapse of Delio
Jeong was formally indicted in April 2025, nearly a year after South Korean authorities sought an arrest warrant for a suspect surnamed Bang, a key figure in the chain of suspensions that involved both Delio and investment firm Haru Invest. Bang holds a majority stake in B&S Holdings, the company identified by Haru as the origin of the service disruptions, after it claimed to have lost 350 billion won —approximately $236 million— in the collapse of FTX.
While the defense expressed a willingness to compensate customers’ losses should Jeong be acquitted, those affected by the fund freeze urged the court to impose a “severe” sentence, according to Yonhap. The first-instance ruling is scheduled for July 16, 2026.
