Binance Faces The Heat In South Korea Over Frozen $106M GOPAX GoFi Funds

[Redator]

Binance is currently facing the heat in South Korea.

On 20 October 2025, Min Byung-dug, a South Korean lawmaker asked regulators if Binance is going to pay up investors affected by GOPAX’s GoFi fund going under. GOPAX offered GoFi as a high-yield crypto deposit solution. However, after FTX went down in 2022, roughly $106 million in consumer funds where frozen. This affected around 3000 users and so far, there is no solution in sight.

Now that Binance has acquired GOPAX, the onus falls on the parent company to follow through

According to a local publication, speaking during a parliamentary hearing, Min questioned the Financial Services Commission (FSC) Chairman, Lee Eog-won about Binance’s promise to pay the effected users.

South Korean lawmaker Min Byung-dug urges Binance to compensate 3,000 GoFi investors on GOPAX, whose $106M in funds have been frozen since the 2022 FTX collapse. Questions GOPAX acquisition approval without repayment plan. #Crypto #Binance pic.twitter.com/kQvIIfnPG4

— Vincent Bu Lu (@VincentBuLu1) October 21, 2025

 

Min pointed out that compensating the investors should have been a prerequisite in Binance’s acquisition of GOPAX. “This is a merger not backed by capital,” he said, during the session.

Binance had first announced its plan to acquire GOPAX way back in 2023, in an effort to expand its presence in South Korea. However, at the time, the Korea Financial Intelligence Unit (KuFIU) blocked its advances based on Binance’s past anti-money laundering violations in the US.

The deal was finally approved when Binance resolved its compliance issues.

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Binance Linked To Cambodia Scandal, Lawmakers In Korea Demand Probe

Out of the frying pan, into the fire. As if paying $106 million was not enough, there’s more legal troubles headed towards Binance.

Kim Jae-sun, another Korean lawmaker has raised concerns regarding Binance’s alleged ties to the Cambodian Prince Group, which the US authorities have accused of money-laundering and human trafficking.

The U.S. Treasury has designated Chen Zhi and the Prince Group as a transnational criminal organization, alleging they ran global sc-m and money-laundering operations out of Cambodia.

Dozens of companies and individuals linked to Prince, including real estate and banking arms,… pic.twitter.com/HRrduFJ6RZ

— Jacob in Cambodia (@jacobincambodia) October 15, 2025

He also pointed out that authorities fined Changpeng Zhao (CZ) $4 billion and banned him from operating in the US because of his past violations.

Moreover, Binance’s acquisition of GOPAX has sparked a flurry of political debates in the country. According to the publication, some are questioning the timing of the deal since it was approved within just nine months after the new government took office.

There are also rumors of a top GOPAX executive being related to someone high up in President Lee Jae-myung’s administration.

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More Binance Updates: Limitless Lab Dispute, 600 Wallets Banned

CJ Hetherington, CEO of Limitless Labs, accused Binance of demanding 8% of his project’s tokens and millions in deposits to secure a listing. To substantiate his claim, he shared “alleged” internal communications highlighting demands for airdrops, marketing allocations and collateral.

However, Binance responded by stating that it does not profit from listings, nor does it charge fees and that the deposits are refundable. Further, Binance denied any allegations of token dumping and criticized Hetherington for breaching confidentiality.

Binance Denies Profiting From Token Listings

Binance said it “does not profit” from its token listing process and called recent allegations from Limitless Labs CEO CJ Hetherington “false and defamatory.”

> Hetherington ( @cjhtech ) claimed Binance requested about 8% of… pic.twitter.com/5munTyKmsi

— Karon (@pangestu_karon) October 15, 2025

In another news, Binance banned hundreds of users on its platform over trading abuse. Binance Wallet identified and banned over 600 users who were abusing the Alpha airdrop campaigns by creating multiple wallets and using bots to farm rewards. For context, Binance Alpha is designed to highlight emerging Web3 projects and offer users early access to new tokens.

@BinanceWallet banned over 600 accounts that had misused Binance Alpha by fraudulently using automated tools (e.g. “bot farms”)

Now I can at least use my points

Check ur account, r u safe or banned?

Like
RT https://t.co/3gM4ICYuoW pic.twitter.com/gKEXsMFVAd

— CryptoTelugu (@CryptoTeluguO) October 19, 2025

The exploits came to light during routine audits and community reporting. Subsequently, the preparators were flagged for violating the terms of the platform and banned or had their wallets restricted.

After this, Binance announced that it had upgraded its monitoring systems. It introduced a whistleblowing mechanism where users can report suspicious accounts. If the claims are verified, the reporter stands to gain 50% of any recoverable funds.

However, to be eligible, the report must include solid evidence including, wallet info, screenshots or IP data.

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Key Takeaways

• Binance faces pressure in Korea to repay $106M in frozen GOPAX GoFi funds
• Lawmakers raise concerns over Binance’s alleged ties to Cambodia’s Prince Group
• Political scrutiny intensifies in Korea amid rumors of favoritism in GOPAX acquisition approval

The post Binance Faces The Heat In South Korea Over Frozen $106M GOPAX GoFi Funds appeared first on 99Bitcoins.