On the assumption that he and his sister Kang Ji-yeon similarly manipulated the stock price of Bithumb and embezzled money, South Korean authorities have summoned Kang Jong-hyun, who is recognized as the legitimate owner of the company.
Because Bithumb owns a 34% ownership in another one of Kang Jong-businesses, hyun's Vidente, he is regarded as the company's anonymous chairman. Bithumb Holdings, the parent business of Bithumb, has Vidente as its major stakeholder.
However, the two businesses where Kang Jong-hyun serves as chairman, Vidente and Inbiogen, denied that Mr. Kang served as their chairman and claimed that Kang Ji-yeon, Kang Jong-sister, hyun's actually held that position. This makes it seem likely that Kang is using his sister's name while doing business.
According to reports from Korean media, an investigation into claims of misappropriation by associates of Bithumb, one of the biggest virtual asset exchanges in South Korea, was carried out today.
Kang Jong-hyun, who is thought to be the true owner of Bithumb, is being looked into by the Financial Investigation Division 2 of the Seoul Southern District Prosecutor's Office (Chief Prosecutor Chae Hee-man). Kang Ji-yeon, CEO of Vident and the "largest shareholder of Bithumb," was twice called and examined last week. She is Kang's younger sister. He was charged with manipulating stock prices and meddling with the capital markets in order to steal money from the corporation.
The prosecution has been looking into claims of theft, betrayal of trust, and manipulation of stock prices of businesses connected to Bithumb since last year. Inbiogen, the major shareholder of Vident and Bucket Studio, and Bithumb Vident were both searched and confiscated in October of last year. Executives and staff at the company were also under investigation.
A Vident executive was on trial in December of last year for concealing and destroying evidence.
The majority of the domestic virtual asset trading market share is held by Bithumb and Upbit. With more than 8 million members, Bithumb is the second-largest virtual asset exchange in the market.
The market for virtual currencies has been struggling recently, and there has been a dramatic drop in the amount of virtual currency traded. However, up until the third quarter of last year, the total operating profit and sales revenue were, respectively, 273.7 billion won and 151.7 billion won.
Investigators are looking into whether the Kang cousins propagated false information about Bithumb sales and stock price manipulation, as well as whether they actually stole money from the business through conversion of ordinary bonds and the creation of illicit funds.