South Korean Lawmaker’s Upbit Attack Coincides with Son Landing Bithumb Job — Conflict of Interest?
A South Korean lawmaker's public criticism of crypto exchange Upbit has ignited controversy after his son secured a position at rival platform Bithumb.
The Timing Question
Observers note the proximity of the political figure's regulatory-focused remarks and the family's direct entry into the crypto industry. It raises immediate questions about the separation between public duty and private gain.
Regulatory Scrutiny in a Booming Market
South Korea's crypto sector operates under intense scrutiny from bodies like the Financial Services Commission (FSA). This incident throws a spotlight on the informal networks and potential influence that can exist alongside formal regulation.
Trust on the Line
For investors, perception is everything. Allegations of conflict of interest, whether proven or not, can erode confidence faster than a market correction. It's a reminder that in finance, sometimes the most interesting trades happen off the books.
From Private Meetings to Public Pressure—Questions Trail Lawmaker’s Moves
According to those reports, Kim met with Bithumb executives in November last year. Around the same period, a job posting appeared at Bithumb for a data analysis intern, with qualifications that reportedly matched his son’s academic background in mathematics from a U.S. university.
The son joined Bithumb in January and left the company in June. A former aide claimed that Kim’s staff had earlier circulated the son’s résumé to other firms before the Bithumb role materialized, describing the eventual hire as “special employment.”
Shortly after the Bithumb meeting and job posting, Kim allegedly instructed his aides to prepare aggressive questioning targeting Dunamu.
One former assistant told reporters that Kim explicitly used the phrase “attack Dunamu,” framing Upbit’s market dominance as a monopoly problem.
In February, Kim raised those concerns publicly during a Political Affairs Committee session, citing Upbit’s market share, its handling of the Terra-Luna collapse, and findings from a Financial Intelligence Unit inspection that identified more than 700,000 customer identification violations.
During that session, Kim did not question Bithumb and, as of this moment, has denied any wrongdoing.
He said his legislative activities were based on general policy concerns and were unrelated to his son’s employment, which he maintains was conducted through open recruitment.
He also stated that he did not name any specific company in committee discussions and that linking his oversight role to his family member’s job was regrettable.
Bithumb has likewise said its recruitment process was transparent and that concerns about monopolization in the crypto market have been raised consistently by lawmakers and experts since 2021.
Upbit Dominance Fuels Debate Over Systemic Risk in Korea
The scandal has been occurring against the backdrop of a deepening examination of the dominance of Upbit in the crypto market of South Korea.
The information from the Financial Supervisory Service reveals that Upbit took 71.6 percent of the domestic crypto trading volume in the first half of 2025 and registered approximately 833 trillion won, or approximately 642 billion dollars, in transactions.
Bithumb came in second with 25.8 percent of the market, and the rest of the licensed exchanges had less than 3 percent of the market.
Such concentration, regulators and lawmakers across party lines have cautioned, might be systemic, especially when Dunamu, which is currently on the verge of a proposed merger with internet giant Naver, becomes systemic.
The regulators criticized the platform in the future with respect to slow reporting and inadequate accountability as per existing laws.
In turn, authorities are currently considering reforms to introduce bank-level liability standards to crypto exchanges, such as mandatory compensation to users in case of a hack or system failure and much heavier fines.
The case of Kim is now in the dent of a wider discussion in South Korea on the topic of oversight, healthy competition, and the limits of legislative authority and individual interests in a fiercely expanding market of digital assets.
