A former aide said the instructions to attack Upbit were issued abruptly in the National Assembly. Kim Byung-ki, the floor leader of South Korea’s ruling Democratic Party, faced mounting resignation calls amid claims he was incentivised to lobby against Upbit while securing his son’s internship at Bithumb. The aide said they were instructed to attack the Upbit operator Dunamu in the National Assembly at Kim’s request. “Kim suddenly called me to say, ‘We need to go on the offensive against Dunamu,’ and told us to prepare related questions,” the unnamed aide said.
Kim said Dunamu’s monopoly-like dominance of the crypto exchange market was a massive problem. The allegations come at a key moment for both Upbit and Bithumb. The aide claims Kim issued the instructions in February, at a time when Kim was a member of the National Assembly’s Political Affairs Committee. The committee oversees domestic financial institutions, including both Upbit and Bithumb.
In September, the investigative journalism outlet reported that Kim’s son was hurriedly hired as an intern in Bithumb’s data analysis team immediately after his father’s private meeting with the exchange. Weeks later, Kim made several critical comments about Upbit at committee meetings, and while he did not mention the platform by name, the nature of his comments left no room for ambiguity. Upbit’s domestic market share in the first half of 2025 stood at 72%, per regulatory data. At the same meeting, a Financial Intelligence Unit investigation at Upbit was said to have uncovered 700,000 violations of know-your-customer protocols.
The storm appears unlikely to blow over quickly. The main opposition party has called for Kim’s resignation not only as floor leader but also as a member of the National Assembly. Some voices within the governing coalition have also called for action.
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