KARA member Park Gyuri is drawing a firm line between herself and the alleged fraud surrounding PICA Coin, a cryptocurrency project led by her ex-boyfriend. Song Ja Ho, the CEO of PICA Project, is currently on trial for fraud, and while Park insists she had no part in any criminal activity, PICA Project’s side of the story is quite different.
On July 16th, Park appeared as a witness in the PICA Coin trial at the Seoul Southern District Court, where she was questioned for approximately three hours. She maintained that she was never involved in any illegal coin business or price manipulation schemes.
Park explained that while she worked for PICA Project for a year as the head of public relations, she was unaware of the company’s cryptocurrency operations. She earned about 40 million won ($29,000) as salary.
However, controversy arose when it was revealed that her name and photo were listed in the project’s white paper as the Chief Communications Officer (CCO) and an advisor. In response, Park clarified, “I never consented to this, and I know nothing about virtual assets.”
She also expressed that she felt wronged, stating that she had invested 60 million won ($43,500) in PICA Coin in 2021, only to lose the entire amount when the coin was delisted.
However, PICA Project strongly refuted Park’s claims. The company alleged that not only did she make tens of millions of won in profit from the coin, but she was also reimbursed for her 60 million won investment loss.
Sung Hae Joong, another CEO of PICA Project, claimed Park’s investment was voluntary and that the company had no obligation to compensate her for her losses. Nevertheless, he alleged that co-CEO Song Ja Ho gave her 60 million won in cash to personally cover her financial loss. Sung also asserted that Park was not just a passive participant but the actual head of PR who benefited financially from her role, which is why she was listed as CCO in the white paper.
Conversations released by CEO Sung appear to show Park asking Song about a deposit date, followed by evidence that she received the 60 million won. Furthermore, it was reported that between March and May 2021, Park received approximately 60 million won worth of luxury watches, bags and checks from Song as gifts.
Sung also contradicted Park’s claim that she “never profited from the coin,” insisting that she personally received 26 million won ($19,000) from selling the cryptocurrency.
Meanwhile, CEO Song Ja Ho was indicted and arrested in July 2023 on charges including fraud, breach of trust, and violations of the Capital Markets Act. He is accused of soliciting investments for artworks he had not actually secured and manipulating the price of PICA Coin. Song and Park dated from 2019 to 2021, and their age difference was also a topic of public discussion at the time.
>> Kara’s Gyuri Denies Any Involvement in Her Ex-Boyfriend’s Fraud Case
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