Bithumb, South Korea’s second-largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, is moving to reappoint CEO Lee Jae-won despite recent regulatory and operational troubles. Shareholders will vote on March 31 about extending Lee’s term for another two years; his current term expires at the end of March. Cointelegraph has contacted Bithumb for comment.
Regulators have recently penalized the exchange for alleged anti-money laundering (AML) deficiencies. In March, the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) imposed a six-month partial suspension and fined Bithumb 36.8 billion won (about $24.2 million). One sanction bars the exchange from processing external crypto transfers for new customers from March 27 through Sept. 26.
Bithumb’s operational integrity has also been questioned after a February promotional error that credited users with 2,000 Bitcoin (BTC) each instead of 2,000 Korean won (roughly $1.40). The mistake produced on-screen credits representing roughly 620,000 BTC that the exchange could not actually back. Separately, authorities are investigating claims that Bithumb shared its order book with an overseas platform; additional penalties from ongoing probes could complicate the renewal of its virtual asset service provider license.
Industry sources told the Korea Times that Bithumb will be watching the outcomes of these investigations closely, noting that license renewal remains a requirement for continued operations. The Korean crypto market, however, is active: CoinGecko data places Upbit first by 24-hour trading volume, Bithumb second, and Korbit third.
Macro policy has become more favorable since President Lee Jae-myung took office, with lawmakers advancing crypto-related legislation, including a bill to legalize stablecoins. Crypto adoption in South Korea is high: exchange user counts topped 16 million late last year—more than 30% of the population—and market revenue is projected to reach $1.3 billion by 2026, according to Statista.