Bithumb CEO booked in Korea over job offer bribe allegations
South Korean police have booked Bithumb CEO Lee Jae-won on suspicion of bribery after he allegedly agreed to give a politician’s son a job in exchange for legislative favors.
That’s according to Yonhap media, which reports police began their investigation on June 11.
Lee was allegedly asked by the lawmaker Kim Byung-ki, who was on the National Assembly’s Political Affairs Committee, to hire his son while sharing a drink together at a restaurant in November 2024.
In addition to this, Kim allegedly requested that Bithumb hire an aide who worked in Kim’s office.
Authorities suspect that Kim then used his legislative powers to draw attention to “monopoly issues” around Bithumb rival Dunamu.
Read more: Bithumb chief bribed to list crypto, prosecutors claim
The revelations were reportedly made by a former aide who worked for Kim, and police suspect that the legislative scrutiny was intensified in return for his son’s job.
Kim’s son was reportedly hired in January 2025 and worked at Bithumb for roughly six months. Kim is also suspected of acquiring preferential treatment for his son’s university transfer and receiving suspicious political funds.
Bithumb a magnet for police raids
Police carried out a search warrant against Bithumb last February over Kim’s suspected involvement in the bribery case regarding his son’s employment.
Then, on June 8, another raid was carried out, with Lee being named a suspect in the case.
Indeed, Bithumb has been raided multiple times over the years. Its former CEO, Kim Dae-sik, allegedly misappropriated $2 million worth of won to buy an apartment. This led to another raid last year.
In 2023, another series of raids were carried out against the company and fellow crypto exchange Upbit. This followed suspicions over a South Korean lawmaker’s $4.5 million worth of crypto holdings and how he obtained them.
Another raid was carried out in 2023 against Lee Sang-jun, the chief exec of Bithumb’s parent company. In this case, he was suspected of accepting financial bribes in exchange for specific cryptocurrency listings.
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