South Korean Court Lifts Bithumb's Six-Month Business Suspension

May 1, 2026

The Seoul Administrative Court granted a stay on Thursday halting Bithumb's six-month business suspension that was set to begin March 27, with Judge Gong Hyeon-jin citing potential irreparable harm from restricting the exchange's core functions. South Korea's Financial Intelligence Unit had imposed the unprecedented suspension along with a $24.6 million fine in March after alleging 6.65 million anti-money laundering violations, including 3.55 million failures to verify customer identities and 3.04 million cases of failing to block restricted transactions. The sanctions represented the most severe penalty ever imposed on a Korean won-based exchange and included disciplinary action against CEO Lee Jae-won. The ruling comes amid heightened scrutiny of Bithumb, one of South Korea's largest cryptocurrency exchanges, following a February accounting error that mistakenly credited users with $43 billion in Bitcoin instead of promotional won amounts.

Court's Emergency Injunction Blocking Business Suspension

▪Bithumb requested the Seoul Administrative Court end both the suspension and fine on March 23.
▪The Seoul Administrative Court noted that listed corporations and registered professional investment corporations will be able to participate in South Korea's virtual asset market soon.
▪Bithumb's penalties were set to take effect on March 27.

FIU's Original Sanctions for AML Violations

▪South Korea's Financial Intelligence Unit cited 3.04 million cases where Bithumb failed to block restricted transactions.
▪South Korea's Financial Intelligence Unit levied a $24.6 million fine on Bithumb.
▪South Korea's Financial Intelligence Unit cited 3.55 million failures by Bithumb to verify customer identities.
▪South Korea's Financial Intelligence Unit is the anti-money laundering body under South Korea's Financial Services Commission.
▪South Korea's Financial Intelligence Unit imposed sanctions on Bithumb in March after alleging 6.65 million violations of local anti-money laundering rules.
▪Bithumb CEO Lee Jae-won faced disciplinary action from South Korea's Financial Intelligence Unit.

Bithumb's Ongoing Regulatory Challenges and Recent Controversies

▪Bithumb's February accounting error involved a $43 billion blunder.
▪Bithumb mistakenly credited hundreds of users with 2,000 BTC instead of 2,000 won in a promotion in February.

Perspective of South Korea's Financial Intelligence Unit

▪South Korea's Financial Intelligence Unit determined that Bithumb's 6.65 million violations warranted the most severe penalty ever imposed on a Korean won-based exchange.
▪South Korea's Financial Intelligence Unit deemed CEO Lee Jae-won's leadership responsible enough to warrant personal disciplinary action.
▪South Korea's Financial Intelligence Unit concluded that Bithumb's failures to verify customer identities and block restricted transactions posed significant anti-money laundering risks.