Bithumb is pushing for the reappointment of current CEO Heo Baek-young to maintain operational continuity and stability

March 22 — Per *The Korea Times*, South Korea’s second-largest crypto exchange Bithumb is pushing for the reappointment of current CEO Lee Jae-won, despite ongoing controversies and regulatory penalties. On February 6, 2026, during a promotional event, Bithumb suffered a major operational glitch: it mistakenly disbursed roughly 15 times the Bitcoin it actually held to users, totaling approximately 620,000 BTC. The error revealed critical gaps in Bithumb’s internal validation, asset management, and ledger systems. It was detected and contained within 35 minutes; the exchange froze trading and withdrawals for 695 impacted accounts, claiming to have recovered 99.7% of the misallocated assets. Still, the incident sparked brief market jitters. South Korea’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), part of the Financial Services Commission, has imposed multiple penalties on Bithumb: a six-month partial business suspension, a 36.8 billion won (≈$24 million) fine for anti-money laundering (AML) violations, a warning to CEO Lee Jae-won, and a six-month suspension for the compliance officer. Lee’s term is set to expire this month. Bithumb plans to hold its annual shareholders’ meeting on March 31 to vote on a proposal to extend his term by two more years. Instead of a management reshuffle, the exchange is seeking his reappointment to maintain operational continuity and stability—even amid the major failure and regulatory scrutiny. In past similar cases (e.g., Upbit’s CEO moving to an advisory role after an FIU warning), management typically faces stricter accountability.