Bithumb, South Korea’s second-largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, is reportedly seeking to reappoint CEO Lee Jae-won despite recent alleged anti-money laundering failures and other controversies, according to the Korea Times.
The stock exchange will convene its regular shareholders’ meeting on March 31, and a proposal to keep Lee in the top job will be presented to shareholders, Korea Times reported on Sunday, citing industry sources.
His current term expires at the end of the month, and a successful extension will allow Lee to remain as the exchange’s CEO for another two years. Cointelegraph has reached out to Bithumb for comment.
Upbit is the largest South Korean cryptocurrency exchange in terms of 24-hour trading volume, According to to CoinGecko, then Bithumb and Korbit.
Regulators slapped Bithumb with penalties
In March, South Korea’s Financial Intelligence Unit imposed a six-month partial suspension and a fine of 36.8 billion won ($24.2 million) on Bithumb over alleged anti-money laundering lapses.
As part of these measures, the exchange will be deprived of the ability to process external cryptocurrency transfers for up-to-date customers from March 27 to September 26.
The exchange also drew the attention of regulators in February when, during a promotional event, it mistakenly awarded 2,000 Bitcoin (BTC) to each user instead of 2,000 Korean won ($1.40), distributing a total of 620,000 coins that it could not secure.
According to the Korea Times, Bithumb is also awaiting the outcome of another investigation into sharing its order book with a foreign platform, and larger fines could be an obstacle to license renewals, according to the Korea Times.
“Bithumb will be anxious awaiting the results of ongoing regulatory investigations as the company still needs to renew its virtual asset service provider license,” an industry official told the Korea Times.
Related: South Korea introduces a limit on shareholders’ shares of cryptocurrency exchanges to 20%: report
The South Korean crypto industry is growing
South Korea’s cryptocurrency industry has benefited from a friendlier environment following the election of President Lee Jae-myung last June, who has pushed various cryptocurrency-related regulations, including a law legalizing stablecoins.
Three months earlier, the number of cryptocurrency exchange users in South Korea exceeded 16 million, representing over 30% of the country’s population.
South Korea’s cryptocurrency market is expected to reach revenues of $1.3 billion in 2026, According to to the Statista online data platform.
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