Recently, businessman Kang Jong Hyun, who was rumored to be in a relationship with actress Park Min Young, is said to have enjoyed a luxurious life despite having bad credit.
On November 8, MBC's 'PD Note' aired an episode covering the suspicions about the management structure of Bithumb, including the largest shareholders Kang Jong Hyun and his sister, the largest shareholder of Vident. The episode also raised the allegation that Bithumb received secret funds when listing coins.
On this day, PD Note reported that Kang Jong Hyun was called the "hidden Bithumb chairman" and would drop 100 to 300 million KRW (72,959.69 USD~218,879 USD) per night at a famous club in Gangnam from 2017 to 2020.
The show revealed that it was common for Kang Jong Hyun to spend 100 million KRW when he visits the nightclub requesting 10 female hostesses and a madam and ordering the most expensive champagnes.
Then when he garnered attention after the dating rumors between actress Park Min Young broke out, he claimed that he made money by selling cell phones and was living at his friend's house. He also explained that the supercars parked in front of his home did not belong to him but belonged to other people.
He also explained through Dispatch that the 500 million KRW (~364,796 USD) Richard Mille luxury watch he was wearing on a date with Park Min Young was “just a fake.”
Bithumb is the second-largest cryptocurrency exchange in Korea. Assets entrusted alone in the exchange exceeded 11 trillion KRW (~8 billion USD). Kang Jong Hyun was sentenced to two years and six months in prison and three years of probation on charges of inflating mobile phone sales and receiving 3.5 billion KRW in loans using this as collateral.
The 20 billion KRW loan has not been repaid. He lent his company name and took out a total of three loans of 10 billion KRW each, but he also did not repay the loan due to a lack of property in his own name. This raises suspicions that he “appears to be hiding loans.”
Two years after Kang Jong Hyun was convicted of loan fraud, his sister Kang Ji Yeon invested 23 billion KRW in acquiring Bit Galaxia No. 1 Investment Association. She took over the management rights of Bucket Studio, Inbiogen, and Vident as major shareholders.
Nam Cheong Woo, secretary general of the Minority Shareholder Movement, pointed out, “It is impossible in the capital market to acquire three companies at once for 23 billion KRW and take over management rights. There is no doubt that she has hidden financial support in the background. "
Bithumb Korea's vice president of public relations said, "(Kang Jong Hyun) has never held an executive position and never been given the title of chairman." The current major shareholder of Bithumb is former Chairman Lee Jeong Hoon. Lee Jung Hoon, the founder and former chairman of Bithumb Holdings, holds a 65% stake.
He testified that Bithumb could decide on the listing and abolition of cryptocurrencies on its own, and Company Q, which is in the development business, “gives back money for listing.”
The CEO of Company Q disclosed related documents saying that he paid marketing expenses along with the money for listing. He said that he paid a total of about 3 billion won, including 1 billion KRW for prize equipment and 2 billion KRWfor marketing expenses.
However, Bithumb stated that it has never received a listing fee from the exchange level.
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