Overview
- Police carried out searches of Bithumb offices as part of an expanding inquiry into allegations that independent lawmaker Kim Byung-gi used political influence to help his son get hired at major crypto firms.
- Kim’s son reportedly joined Bithumb in January 2025 and worked there for about six months while prosecutors have questioned Kim multiple times about 13 separate allegations including employment favors.
- Investigators previously summoned exchange executives as witnesses and conducted search-and-seize actions at Bithumb headquarters as they collect documents and testimony.
- Separately, the Financial Intelligence Unit fined Bithumb ₩36.8 billion and ordered a six-month partial suspension for KYC and AML failures, but the Seoul Administrative Court granted a temporary stay of that suspension.
- Bithumb is pressing ahead with business plans such as an MoU to explore a regulated exchange in Vietnam even as the probe and regulatory fight raise legal and reputational risks that could affect its operations and customers.