According to ChainCatcher, the representative of Viva Republica, a P2P money transfer service provider, "Lee Seung-gun" confirmed that he had borrowed about 73 billion won from a subsidiary of the bankrupt FTX exchange and used his company's shares as collateral. Currently, Representative Lee has extended the loan through other financial institutions in South Korea. If the Korean Exchange believes that the number of shares provided by "Lee Seung-gun" for the loan is too large, it may have an adverse impact on the company's listing process.
According to documents related to the bankruptcy proceedings of FTX Trading Ltd. in the Delaware Bankruptcy Court of the United States, Lee Seung-gun signed a loan contract with Maclaurin Investments, a subsidiary of FTX Trading, on November 4, 2021, for a loan amount of US$54.75 million (approximately 73.09 billion won). The document also stated that the "possibility of recovery" of the loan is uncertain. In addition to providing loans, FTX Trading also made an equity investment of US$71.3 million (approximately 95.2 billion won) in Viva Republica.
Industry insiders believe that this move may not pose an obstacle to Viva Republica's listing, but the judgment of the Korea Exchange will still affect the listing process. Viva Republica plans to go public as early as next year, and the market expects its valuation to be 9 to 10 trillion won.
