Gangwon Police Summon South Korean Polymarket Users in Illegal Gambling Probe

South Korean police have identified domestic users of Polymarket, the global prediction-market platform, and have begun summoning them for questioning, according to people familiar with the matter. Investigators are tracing cryptocurrency transaction records to identify users across the country in a broad probe.

The Cyber Crime Investigation Unit of the Gangwon Provincial Police Agency has booked South Korean investors who used Polymarket on gambling charges and is questioning them as suspects, according to legal industry officials.

The Gangwon agency is leading the investigation at the request of the National Police Agency, making it the first police unit in the country to handle the matter on a dedicated nationwide basis. In a June 2 blog post, Ahn Chang-bo, managing partner at law firm Jonjung, wrote that he had attended a suspect interview at the Gangwon police agency with a client who was summoned on gambling allegations tied to Polymarket, underscoring that the investigation is advancing in earnest.

Police identified domestic users by tracing records of funds transferred from local cryptocurrency exchanges to Polymarket, according to the legal industry. Investigators are now issuing summonses to users around the country based on factors including transfer amounts and frequency of use. Ahn wrote that, judging by the number of clients seeking consultations, the number of South Korean users booked so far is clearly substantial.

The central issue is whether using Polymarket can be punished as gambling under South Korea's Criminal Act. Under the law, gambling refers to staking property or financial gain on an outcome determined by chance. At issue is whether Polymarket, where users place bets on future social and political events, meets that definition.

The case has added to confusion among South Korean users because Polymarket operates in the US as a legal financial platform approved by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, or CFTC. Most users viewed it as a derivatives product formally approved by the US government, Ahn wrote, and used the platform without recognizing it could be treated as private gambling under Korean law.

Because there is no precedent in South Korea for investigating Polymarket users on gambling charges, courts and prosecutors have yet to establish clear guidance. Once the police finish their investigation, they are expected to forward the case to the Chuncheon District Prosecutors' Office with a recommendation to indict.