Bithumb lands in fresh regulatory hot water as cops raid offices

Seoul police recently executed its second raid on Bithumb in four months as investigations into whether or not independent lawmaker Kim Byung-gi used his political position to secure a job for his son at the crypto firm continue.

Bithumb has been experiencing a series of legal troubles after regulators found the exchange had failed to verify customer identities properly and processed transactions with unregistered overseas platforms. It is also fighting a separate massive $24.5 million fine and a six-month business suspension.

Why did the police raid Bithumb’s offices this time? 

Bithumb’s main office was searched today, Monday, June 8, by officers from the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency’s Public Crime Investigation Unit. Officers had previously searched Bithumb’s headquarters and its Financial Tower on February 24.

Kim, a former floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea who now sits as an independent, is suspected of pressuring Bithumb executives to hire his second son during a dinner in November 2024. 

The son started at Bithumb in January 2025 and stayed for roughly six months. Investigators want to determine whether any outside pressure or preferential treatment actually shaped the hiring decision, although Bithumb has said it found no irregularities in how Kim’s son was brought on board. 

Police are looking into 13 separate allegations against Kim, including allegations of nomination bribery to favors tied to a university transfer, seeking employment favors from Dunamu, the company behind rival exchange Upbit, and directing an unusual number of questions at the company during legislative proceedings while he was serving on the National Assembly’s Political Affairs Committee. 

Kim was summoned for questioning seven times through April, and the investigation has now stretched past nine months. At his sixth appearance before investigators, he told reporters he was confident he would be cleared. 

What other legal troubles is Bithumb facing? 

Earlier this year, in March, South Korea’s Financial Intelligence Unit fined Bithumb 36.8 billion won ($24.5 million) and imposed a six-month partial business suspension after inspectors found the exchange had processed tens of thousands of transactions with unregistered overseas platforms and failed to properly verify customer identities. 

Bithumb challenged the suspension in court, and in late April, a Seoul court granted an injunction that paused the enforcement of the partial suspension while the case was ongoing.  

Cryptopolitan previously reported a February incident in which a Bithumb employee accidentally distributed 620,000 Bitcoins instead of 620,000 won during a promotional event. That employee’s typo briefly sent roughly $40 billion in crypto to 249 users and prompted the Financial Services Commission to enforce a rule requiring five-minute balance reconciliation checks across all major Korean exchanges.

Bithumb earned about 651 billion won ($430 million) in revenue during 2025 and grew its market share above 30%, but the barrage of regulatory actions has pushed the exchange’s planned IPO past 2028.

Despite the current legal scandals, Bithumb received a certificate of appreciation from the National Police Agency earlier this month for helping prevent roughly 800 million won ($600,000) in phishing losses through a real-time data-sharing system with law enforcement.