South Korean prosecutors have charged five individuals in connection with an alleged “meme coin rug pull” on the Pump.fun platform, resulting in 900 million WON ($600,000) in damages. In a twist, the news of the charges has triggered a nearly 6,000% surge in the value of the affected meme coin, as traders attempt to revive the token.
The Alleged Scheme
According to the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Office, the defendants created a token called CatFi on the Solana-based launchpad Pump.fun in February 2025. The meme coin quickly reached a market capitalization of $8.37 million, according to DEX Screener, before plummeting to a mere $12,170 within hours. Prosecutors attribute the collapse to the defendants’ “mass selling,” which they have classified as a “rug pull.”
The Prosecutors’ Office estimates that 256 investors suffered losses totaling 900 million WON ($600,000), with the defendants allegedly pocketing over 400 million WON ($267,000). Two individuals responsible for promoting the token on social media have been arrested. The remaining three, who managed the technical aspects of the scheme and assisted in the other defendants’ escape, have been charged but not arrested.
Legal Precedent
The case is notable as the first instance of South Korea’s new Virtual Asset User Protection Act being applied to penalize an alleged rug pull, according to a translated press release. It also represents the nation’s first prosecution of a crypto crime executed on a decentralized exchange.
Nick Vaiman, co-founder of blockchain data analytics firm Bubblemaps, told Decrypt that the charges are a “good move by the Korean government.”
“There have always been community investigations on rug pulls, but they led nowhere because there were no real legal consequences,” Vaiman said. “Now, with the law and real precedent, we hope to see more justice and fewer retail investors getting burned.”
The “Unrug” Attempt
Ironically, the news of the charges has spurred renewed interest in the CatFi token. Traders have driven its value up by almost 6,000% in less than a day, from a market cap of $2,350 to its current value of around $167,000. Before this surge, the token had not seen any buying activity since August 2025, according to the block explorer SolScan.
A new X account has been created for the token, with its operators claiming they intend to “unrug” the token. Despite the recent surge, CatFi remains down 96% from its peak, leaving investors who held the token since its all-time high in February 2025 hoping for further gains.
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