South Korean Police Opens First Criminal Probe int...

Table of Contents South Korean police have opened their first investigation into domestic users of Polymarket, the world’s largest prediction market. The Gangwon Provincial Police Agency is leading the probe at the request of the National Police Agency. Local users face potential fines under existing gambling laws. The case draws attention to a legal grey area involving crypto-based prediction platforms that remain widely accessible in the country. Under South Korean law, all betting activity outside Sports Toto is strictly prohibited. Sports Toto, operated by the Korea Sports Promotion Foundation, carries a maximum betting limit of 100,000 won. Any platform outside this framework falls under illegal gambling statutes. Domestic Polymarket users could face fines of up to 10 million won under Article 246 of the Criminal Act. The investigation covers users residing across the country, not only in Gangwon Province. Authorities confirmed the case targets individuals who placed bets through the platform. Polymarket operates legally in the United States but holds no such status in South Korea. The legal distinction creates a direct conflict for Korean users who access the platform freely. South Korean police launch first illegal gambling probe into local users of Polymarket, the world’s largest prediction market According to ChosunBiz, South Korean police are investigating local Polymarket users on suspicion of illegal gambling, reportedly the first such case… pic.twitter.com/wZOP2WBdqs — Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) June 5, 2026 Attorney Junjung Ahn of Ahn Chang-bo Law Office is representing some of the accused users in the case. He addressed the legal standing of the charges directly. “It appears that the elements of the gambling charge are met,” Ahn stated. “However, since there have been no cases of punishment for using Polymarket in Korea, it is difficult to predict the severity of the penalty.” The Korea Media and Communications Standards Commission has not reviewed or restricted Polymarket access. Officials stated no reports about the platform had been submitted to them previously. This means Polymarket remains fully accessible in Korea without any IP bypass. The absence of regulatory review has allowed the platform to operate without restriction until now. The June 3 local elections in South Korea attracted significant betting activity on Polymarket. Bets tied to the election results reached hundreds of billions of won on the platform. Korean users placed these bets using dollar-denominated stablecoins without any platform restrictions. Polymarket does not block or flag users based on their geographic location. The scale of activity during the election period appears to have prompted the National Police Agency to act. The volume involved drew direct attention from law enforcement at the national level. Authorities are now working through provincial channels to identify and investigate the involved users. The election betting activity served as a key trigger for the current probe. Stablecoin use adds another layer of complexity to the legal assessment of these cases. Users converted funds into digital dollars to participate in markets denominated in USD. This method may complicate efforts to track and quantify the actual amounts involved. Regulators have yet to issue formal guidance on stablecoin-based gambling activity. South Korea has not established a clear legal framework for prediction markets or crypto-based betting platforms. The current case may push legislators to address this gap in the near term. Until formal rules exist, users remain exposed to prosecution under existing gambling statutes. The outcome of this investigation could set a precedent for similar cases going forward.