sabiz

Police have officially launched an investigation into the online P2P (peer-to-peer) site 'FashionKing' for suspected fraud.

The Cyber Crime Investigation Unit of the Gyeonggi Southern Police Agency revealed on the 5th that it had received a report from more than 60 victims who lost approximately 2 billion won after trusting the site's promise of guaranteed profits and investing in it.

Launched in July of last year, FashionKing is a P2P site where users can rent virtual costumes, such as "Hanbok" and "Cheongsam," for cash, and the prices of these costumes fluctuate through individual transactions.

However, the costumes, priced from several hundred thousand to millions of won each, have no real use beyond personal transactions. FashionKing allegedly misled users by guaranteeing fixed profits, with each costume listed alongside a promised return on investment.

In the beginning, dividends were paid out, but the situation changed on the 29th of last month when FashionKing announced that investments could only be refunded in company-issued virtual currency, rather than cash.

As it became difficult for investors to recover their principal, a rush to sell off their investments ensued, causing the value of the virtual currency to plummet from over 10,000 won per unit to just 2 won, leaving most investors unable to recover their funds.

The victims have claimed that there are over 6,000 members who invested in FashionKing, with total losses estimated to be around 100 billion won.

The police believe that FashionKing's method of attracting investors and using a "Ponzi scheme" to distribute returns is similar to the tactics of a fraudulent operation. They are continuing their investigation by interviewing the victims and gathering evidence.

A police spokesperson stated, "We are collecting and analyzing relevant materials as complaints from investors continue to come in. The scale of the damages is expected to grow as the investigation progresses."