South Korean police have booked Bithumb CEO Lee Jae-won on suspicion of bribery after he allegedly agreed to give a politician\u2019s son a job in exchange for legislative favors.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s according to Yonhap media, which reports<\/a> police began their investigation on June 11.<\/p>\n Lee was allegedly asked by the lawmaker Kim Byung-ki, who was on the National Assembly\u2019s Political Affairs Committee, to hire his son while sharing a drink together at a restaurant in November 2024.<\/p>\n In addition to this, Kim allegedly requested that Bithumb hire an aide who worked in Kim\u2019s office.\u00a0<\/p>\n Authorities suspect that Kim then used his legislative powers to draw attention to \u201cmonopoly issues\u201d around Bithumb rival Dunamu.\u00a0<\/p>\n Read more: Bithumb chief bribed to list crypto, prosecutors claim<\/a><\/p>\n 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\u2019s job.<\/p>\n Kim\u2019s son was reportedly<\/a> hired in January 2025 and worked at Bithumb for roughly six months. Kim is also suspected of acquiring preferential treatment for his son\u2019s university transfer and receiving suspicious political funds.\u00a0<\/p>\n Bithumb a magnet for police raids<\/p>\n Police carried out a search warrant against Bithumb last February over Kim\u2019s suspected involvement in the bribery case regarding his son\u2019s employment.<\/p>\n Then, on June 8, another<\/a> raid was carried out, with Lee being named a suspect in the case.<\/p>\n Indeed, Bithumb has been raided multiple times over the years. Its former CEO, Kim Dae-sik, allegedly<\/a> misappropriated $2 million worth of won to buy an apartment. This led to another raid last year.\u00a0<\/p>\n In 2023, another series of raids were carried out against the company and fellow crypto exchange Upbit. This followed suspicions<\/a> over a South Korean lawmaker\u2019s $4.5 million worth of crypto holdings and how he obtained them.<\/p>\n Another raid was carried out in 2023 against<\/a> Lee Sang-jun, the chief exec of Bithumb\u2019s parent company. In this case, he was suspected of accepting financial bribes in exchange for specific cryptocurrency listings.<\/p>\n Got a tip? Send us an email securely via\u00a0Protos Leaks<\/a>. For more informed news and investigations, follow us on\u00a0X<\/a>,\u00a0Bluesky<\/a>, and\u00a0Google News<\/a>, or subscribe to our\u00a0YouTube<\/a>\u00a0channel.<\/p>\n \t\t\t