Alpha Asset Management Company, led by CEO Choi Jun-huk, the husband of a famous actress, is currently facing a paper loss of 15.8 billion Korean won (approximately $11.66 million) due to its investment in Wemade Co., a Korean game developer.
This loss is primarily due to the WEMIX cryptocurrency issued by Wemade being delisted again from major Korean trading platforms on June 2, which led to a significant drop in Wemade's stock price.
According to Korean media Chosun Biz, Alpha Asset Management Company first invested 15 billion won in Wemade at 34,894 won per share in October 2023, and then added another 20 billion won at 63,887 won per share in January 2024.
However, with the emergence of WEMIX security issues, Wemade's stock price fell to 25,000 won on June 2, significantly reducing the value of Alpha Asset Management Company's total 35 billion won investment. Specifically, the investment loss from October 2023 exceeded 21%, while the additional investment in January 2024 saw losses of over 57%.
WEMIX's Second Delisting Triggers Crisis
The renewed delisting of the WEMIX cryptocurrency was the direct trigger for Wemade's stock price plunge. On February 28 this year, the WEMIX platform was hacked, losing approximately 8.65 million tokens, estimated to be worth around 9 billion won (approximately $6.2 million) at the time.
The Korean Digital Asset Exchange Alliance (DAXA), whose members include Bithumb, Coinone, and other major Korean cryptocurrency exchanges, decided to delist WEMIX after a review, citing the inability to effectively resolve security concerns and related credibility issues.
Wemade stated in a declaration released in April this year:
"To prevent market panic, we decided to temporarily withhold the disclosure of the hacking incident. The company is taking all necessary measures to strengthen the security of our blockchain infrastructure."
Of note is that this incident marks the first case in the Korean cryptocurrency market where a token was delisted, briefly relisted, and then delisted again.
WEMIX, issued by Wemade, was previously delisted by multiple exchanges in 2022 due to circulation information disclosure issues. Although it was subsequently relisted on some platforms, it has now been setback again due to security concerns. From the beginning of the year to now, Wemade's stock price has dropped by over 20%.
