South Korean lawmakers are ramping up scrutiny on Binance, demanding the cryptocurrency exchange fulfill its reported promise to compensate victims of GOPAX's failed GoFi deposit program. During a National Policy Committee hearing, Rep. Min Byung-dug of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea directly questioned Financial Services Commission Chairman Lee Eog-won, criticizing the approval of Binance's acquisition of GOPAX without a clear repayment plan for affected investors.
Approximately 3,000 investors remain locked out of $106 million in frozen funds since the 2022 FTX collapse, which triggered the suspension of withdrawals from Genesis Global Capital, a key lending partner for GOPAX's GoFi yield program. Min asserted that full compensation was a core condition of the acquisition, stating, "This is a merger not backed by capital," implying Binance may have relied on influence rather than financial commitments.
Binance completed its long-delayed acquisition of GOPAX earlier in October 2025, after overcoming regulatory hurdles from the Korea Financial Intelligence Unit (KoFIU), which had blocked the deal for over two years due to past violations in the US, France, and India. The exchange initially agreed to acquire GOPAX in early 2023 as part of regional expansion plans. According to additional reports, Binance faces outstanding liabilities of up to $122 million, having provided $70 million initially, but no concrete timeline for repayment has been shared.
This situation echoes past crises like Celsius and Voyager, where users faced similar frozen funds. Binance has a history of compensating users, such as reimbursing $283 million in a prior incident, but lawmakers argue that immediate action is needed to set a precedent for user protections in global crypto mergers. GOPAX has stated it is committed to resolving the issue with Binance's support, but victims await a clear resolution amid growing frustration.
MIM
LTC
BTC
ETH
ZK