South Korean police have named Bithumb CEO Lee Jae‑won a key suspect in a growing political bribery scandal tied to a lawmaker’s son and alleged attacks on rival exchange Upbit.
According to Yonhap and local business daily Chosun Biz, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency’s Public Crime Investigation Unit has “booked” Lee Jae‑won as a bribery suspect. Investigators say they are examining whether Lee helped arrange a job at Bithumb for the younger son of independent lawmaker Kim Byung‑kee after a dinner meeting in late 2024.
Police earlier raided Bithumb’s Seoul headquarters and a related office tower in February as part of the same probe into alleged hiring favors. Chosun reports that Kim’s son joined Bithumb, South Korea’s second‑largest crypto exchange, in January 2025 and stayed for about six months, with detectives now checking whether he received preferential treatment.
Alleged Pressure On Upbit Through Parliament
The case does not stop at hiring. Police are also investigating whether Kim used his position in the National Assembly to pressure Bithumb rival Dunamu, the operator of Upbit, after his son landed the job.
According to aides cited by Chosun, Kim allegedly told staff, “We must shut down Dunamu” and “We cannot leave it alone,” while ordering them to prepare questions attacking Upbit’s “monopoly issues” in committee sessions that oversee the Financial Services Commission. Reports say police are now reviewing whether those parliamentary inquiries amounted to a “legislative campaign” that unfairly favored Bithumb.
Crypto‑focused outlets note that Seoul police have questioned executives from multiple exchanges and have already conducted at least two search-and-seizure operations at Bithumb this year. At the same time, South Korea’s Financial Intelligence Unit has separately moved to discipline Bithumb and CEO Lee Jae‑won over alleged anti‑money laundering and KYC failures, even imposing a six‑month partial business suspension that a court later put on hold.
Both Lee and Kim remain under investigation, and no court has found them guilty. Kim faces a broader set of probes that include multiple alleged influence‑peddling and employment‑related offenses, and he has reportedly insisted he will “prove his innocence” once the cases move forward.
As police continue their work, South Korea’s crypto sector is watching closely to see whether prosecutors ultimately bring formal charges and how that might reshape the balance between Bithumb, Upbit, and other exchanges inside one of the world’s most active digital asset markets.
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