Korean game company Wemed owes $41 million in taxes after raising $100 million in Web3 funding.
Not long after launching a $100 million Web 3 fund with Singapore-based Whampoa Group last month, South Korean gaming firm Wemade said unpaid 53.7 billion won ($41 million) in unpaid taxes was insufficient for the country's authorities. The amount is equal to approximately 10% of the company's equity.
As disclosed in Kosdaq's filing on January 3, the unpaid taxes are WEMIX tokens issued by the company from January 2019 to 2022. A tax audit result notice has been issued against our company and Wemade Tree Co., Ltd.”
Wemade explained that the tax debt was “scheduled to be paid by the last date according to legal procedures” until February 29, 2024. Local news reports suggest that tax authorities imposed fines of up to 50 billion won ($38 million).
First published in 2020, WEMIX tokens have returned 635% since inception and currently trade at $2.64 with a hidden market cap of $2.5 billion. It is a protocol compatible with the Ethereum virtual machine that powers Wemade's network of Web3 applications. In the year In 2017, South Korea banned initial coin offerings, but is currently considering reversing the ban and instead imposing a 20% tax on profits generated from crypto transactions.
On December 22, 2023, Wemed has launched the $100-million Web3 Fund in partnership with Whampoa Group to invest in digital asset initiatives in the Middle East. As part of this collaboration, Whampoa Digital will be an ecosystem partner of Wemade's Wemix Play Center in the Dubai International Financial Center Innovation Hub, with financial capital supporting Wemix Play developers.
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