Key Takeaways
A number of experiences say Seoul police raided Bithumb HQ a second time on June 8, 2026, within the Kim Byung-ki corruption probe.Lawmaker Kim Byung-ki faces 13 suspicions and has been summoned by police roughly seven instances.Bithumb denies hiring irregularities; police say the broader investigation requires additional work.
Second Raid in 4 Months
The Seoul Metropolitan Police Company’s Public Crime Investigation Unit was mentioned to have arrived at Bithumb’s Gangnam-gu places of work on Monday morning, marking the second obligatory search of the trade since February. The primary raid passed off Feb. 24, 2026, overlaying each the Bithumb headquarters and the corporate’s Monetary Tower location.
Bithumb officers had been summoned as witnesses in each February and April. Monday’s motion signifies police haven’t discovered what they want by means of witness testimony alone.
What Investigators Are Wanting For
The probe focuses on whether or not Kim Byung-ki used his legislative place to safe favorable employment at Bithumb for his second son. Based on native media reporting, Kim allegedly made employment requests to Bithumb between September and November 2024. The son was reportedly employed in early January 2025 and labored on the trade for about six months.
Kim served on the Nationwide Meeting’s Political Affairs Committee, the physique with oversight authority over monetary and digital asset regulation. Investigators are analyzing whether or not inquiries he directed at Dunamu, the operator of rival trade Upbit, had been supposed to profit Bithumb and created stress that contributed to the hiring.
Kim faces 13 separate suspicions within the broader investigation, together with nomination bribery. South Korea’s police have summoned him roughly seven instances over the course of a nine-month inquiry.
Bithumb has maintained publicly that the hiring course of for Kim’s son adopted customary procedures and concerned no irregularities. The South Korean crypto trade is a prime 20 buying and selling platform worldwide and second to Upbit within the nation. Over the past day, Bithumb logged round $576 million in buying and selling quantity.
Korean Media Protection
MBC, KBS, and JTBC every revealed experiences on the June 8 raid inside hours of the morning search warrant execution. MBC’s imnews.imbc.com reported the motion at roughly 1:29 p.m. native time. KBS confirmed the second raid at roughly 3:15 p.m., noting the 13 suspicions and 7 prior summonses of Kim. JTBC revealed a separate account overlaying the morning timeline and the son’s approximate six months of employment. A number of different regional information retailers coated Monday’s probe.
Bithumb’s Historical past With Legislation Enforcement
Monday’s raid will not be Bithumb’s first encounter with investigators. Tax authorities and police searched the trade in 2018 over alleged tax evasion. Seoul police returned in 2020 over suspected funding fraud tied to token listings. Prosecutors raided in 2023 over alleged worth manipulation of regionally issued tokens, and once more in 2025 over embezzlement allegations involving a former govt.
A separate incident in February 2026 drew regulatory scrutiny when a system error throughout a promotion by chance credited person accounts with roughly 620,000 BTC, inflicting a short market disruption on the platform. That occasion triggered a Monetary Supervisory Service investigation and Monetary Intelligence Unit actions, together with a partial suspension discover and disciplinary measures in opposition to the CEO. That state of affairs was not a police raid and is distinct from the present felony investigation.
What Comes Subsequent
Police have said that a number of elements of the broader Kim Byung-ki investigation require extra work earlier than conclusions may be drawn. No formal prices have been introduced. If any supplies had been seized on Monday, it might speed up the timeline.
