The Korea Times

Bithumb's 620,000-bitcoin mishap exposes systemic internal control failure

Bithumb’s erroneous distribution of 620,000 bitcoins is widely seen as more than just human error, laying bare serious structural flaws in the cryptocurrency exchange’s asset ledger management system and internal controls, financial authorities and politicians said Sunday. Controversy centers on the system’s failure to properly block abnormal transactions. Questions have also been raised over how Bithumb, whose actual bitcoin holdings are estimated at around 40,000, was able to execute payouts totaling 620,000 bitcoins. Financial authorities believe the unprecedented episode underscores fundamental vulnerabilities in digital asset management, making regulatory sanctions inevitable. The incident occurred during Bithumb’s “random box” promotional event, which invited users to open a virtual box for cash rewards ranging from 2,000 won ($1.36) to 50,000 won. On Friday, the country’s second-largest cryptocurrency exchange was about to distribute cash rewards to 695 participants. However, during the payout process at around 7 p.m., an employee mistakenly entered the payout denomi

Feb 8, 2026By Jun Ji-hye

Bithumb's 620,000-bitcoin mishap exposes systemic internal control failure

Banking & Finance

KakaoBank posts record profit for 2025 on higher non-interest income

KakaoBank, Korea’s largest internet-only lender, delivered another year of record earnings in 2025 as rapid expansion in fee-based and platform-related revenue more than offset weaker interest income, the bank said Wednesday. Operating profit reached 649.4 billion won ($448 million) last year, up 7 percent from 2024, while net profit climbed 9.1 percent to 480.3 billion won. Although income from interest-bearing assets declined amid a challenging rate environment, robust growth in non-interest segments drove overall performance higher, the bank said. Non-interest income surged 22.4 percent year-on-year to 1.09 trillion won, surpassing the 1 trillion won mark for the first time on an annual basis. This category accounted for more than 35 percent of the bank’s total operating revenue. Within non-interest income, fee- and platform-related revenue amounted to 310.5 billion won, marking a 2.9 percent increase from a year earlier. Growth was supported by expanding loan and investment platforms as well as higher advertising-related income. Meanwhile, the bank’s deposit base continued to ex

Feb 4, 2026By Jun Ji-hye

KakaoBank posts record profit for 2025 on higher non-interest income

Policy

STOs emerge as key engine for pushing Kosdaq toward 3,000 level

Security tokens are emerging as a key engine to push the Kosdaq past the 3,000-point milestone following the realization of President Lee Jae Myung’s campaign pledge to lift the KOSPI above 5,000 points, according to National Assembly and industry officials on Tuesday. The government and the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) are reviewing measures to foster corporate finance-oriented security token offerings (STOs) as a way to expand capital-raising options for small and venture firms. STOs incorporate fractional investment — which allows shared ownership and profit rights in real-world assets such as real estate and art — into the formal financial system through blockchain-based infrastructure. With the legal groundwork for STOs finalized last month, industry participants broadly agree that the focus must now shift from legislation to the construction of practical market infrastructure. On Jan. 15, the National Assembly passed amendments to the Capital Markets Act and the Electronic Securities Act aimed at institutionalizing tokenized securities, without major disputes betwee

Feb 3, 2026By Jun Ji-hye

STOs emerge as key engine for pushing Kosdaq toward 3,000 level

Banking & Finance

Stock trading fever grips Koreans morning and night in bull market

Lim, a 40-year-old office worker living in Incheon, recently increased his stock trading activity in pre- and after-hours markets amid a sharp rally in domestic shares. “Before heading to work, I buy stocks in the premarket that react to overnight moves in U.S. markets and major news. After work, I review earnings-related stocks in the after-hours market,” he said. “My response speed has become much faster than when I invested only during regular trading hours.” Online investment communities also suggest that off-hours trading has become routine. One user recently posted that he made short-term gains by buying SK hynix shares in the after-hours market immediately after the company released its earnings results, which sent the stock sharply higher. “Even if a stock has already risen significantly during regular trading, after-hours markets allow you to react quickly when you believe there is still upside potential,” the user wrote. As Korea’s stock market surged past the 5,000-point mark on the benchmark KOSPI and the 1,000-point level on the tech-heavy secondary Kosdaq bour

Feb 3, 2026By Jun Ji-hye

Stock trading fever grips Koreans morning and night in bull market

Policy

Korea bolsters AI capabilities to tackle crypto market manipulation

The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) is upgrading an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered platform for virtual asset surveillance as part of efforts to crack down on increasingly sophisticated market manipulation, the watchdog said Monday. The platform, Virtual Assets Intelligence System for Trading Analysis (VISTA), is designed to process massive volumes of trading data, automatically flag abnormal transactions and visualize trading behavior. The financial watchdog said VISTA has already become a core investigative tool in crypto-related enforcement cases. Last December, FSS expanded its computing capacity by installing two new servers equipped with high-performance central and graphics processing units. Leveraging this infrastructure, the agency has developed an automated detection model that identifies suspected price-rigging periods without manual intervention. The system scans every possible trading interval — from seconds to months — and calculates abnormal trading metrics across all segments, allowing authorities to uncover manipulation patterns regardless of how frequently

Feb 2, 2026By Jun Ji-hye

Korea bolsters AI capabilities to tackle crypto market manipulation

Others

Korea's US FX monitoring list status has limited market impact

The U.S. government’s decision to keep Korea on its foreign exchange monitoring list is unlikely to have a significant immediate impact on the exchange rate, market analysts said Friday. Still, as both the U.S. and Korean governments continue to signal that the Korean won’s recent depreciation against the U.S. dollar is "excessive," expectations are growing that upward pressure on the local currency could build. Earlier in the day, the U.S. Treasury Department kept Seoul on its list of countries monitored for their foreign exchange policies, releasing the updated list in its semiannual "Report to Congress on Macroeconomic and Foreign Exchange Policies of Major Trading Partners of the United States." Korea was taken off the list in November 2023 for the first time in more than seven years, but was reinstated beginning in November 2024, ahead of the inauguration of the Donald Trump administration. “In support of President Trump’s America First trade policy, starting with this report, Treasury is strengthening its analysis of trading partners’ currency policies and practices,” T

Jan 30, 2026By Jun Ji-hye

Korea's US FX monitoring list status has limited market impact

Policy

Financial watchdog chief's growing clout comes into focus after agency avoids public institution status

The growing influence of Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) Gov. Lee Chan-jin is once again in the spotlight following the government’s decision to postpone classifying the financial watchdog as a public institution, according to industry insiders Friday. For the FSS, public institution status has long been viewed as a worst-case scenario, raising concerns that it could erode the watchdog’s independence and autonomy in financial supervision. The agency was effectively spared from that risk after the finance ministry opted not to proceed with the designation. The FSS has also been backed by President Lee Jae Myung in its push to expand special judicial police powers, further reinforcing perceptions of the governor’s rising clout. Lee, who was appointed in August last year as the first FSS chief under the Lee Jae Myung administration, was a classmate of the president at the Judicial Research and Training Institute and previously served as a defense attorney in the president’s election law violation case and other cases. At a meeting on Thursday, the Ministry of Economy and Finance

Jan 30, 2026By Jun Ji-hye

Financial watchdog chief's growing clout comes into focus after agency avoids public institution status

Banking & Finance

Hana Financial chief cleared of legal risk as top court backs acquittal

Hana Financial Group Chairman Ham Young-joo has effectively shed nearly eight years of judicial uncertainty following the Supreme Court’s ruling in favor of his acquittal Thursday. With the legal cloud lifted, Ham’s leadership is expected to gain renewed momentum, paving the way for faster execution of key strategies, including expansion into new businesses such as stablecoins and the acceleration of an artificial intelligence (AI)-led digital transformation. After securing reappointment at a group shareholders’ meeting last March, Ham will serve the remainder of his term through March 2028. The Supreme Court overturned the appellate court’s guilty verdict on charges of obstruction of business, remanding the case to the lower court with a ruling favoring acquittal. While the conviction for violating the Equal Employment Opportunity Act was upheld, the penalty amounts only to a fine, which does not affect Ham’s eligibility to serve as chairman. Under the Act on Corporate Governance of Financial Companies, only confirmed prison sentences disqualify executives from holding top man

Jan 29, 2026By Jun Ji-hye

Hana Financial chief cleared of legal risk as top court backs acquittal

Banking & Finance

5 major banks plan $350 million low-interest loan for Samsung chip plant

The country’s five major banks — KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Hana, Woori and NH NongHyup — are considering a plan to extend a combined low-interest loan of 500 billion won ($350 million) to Samsung Electronics to support construction of its new semiconductor plant in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, industry insiders said Thursday. Under the proposal, each bank will provide 100 billion won. The Korea Development Bank (KDB), which manages the National Growth Fund, recently presented the financing plan to the world’s largest memory chip maker. Launched in December, the National Growth Fund aims to attract 150 trillion won in government and private investment over the next five years to foster strategic high-tech industries, including artifical intelligence (AI), semiconductors and renewable energy. The fund was one of President Lee Jae Myung’s campaign pledges. The five major financial holding companies have already committed a combined 50 trillion won to the fund, contributing 10 trillion won each. The banks’ proposed funding would supplement a separate 2 trillion won low-cost loan to

Jan 29, 2026By Jun Ji-hye

5 major banks plan $350 million low-interest loan for Samsung chip plant

Cryptocurrency

Gov't to impose cap on crypto exchange ownership, citing broader public role

Financial Services Commission Chairman Lee Eog-weon formally stressed Wednesday the need to limit the ownership stakes of major shareholders in virtual asset exchanges. He said the move is necessary to align governance standards with the exchanges’ increasing public role. The remarks indicate that the country’s top financial regulator intends to push ahead with the plan despite resistance from industry players and concerns raised by the ruling Democratic Party of Korea. The regulator is reportedly reviewing a cap of about 15 to 20 percent on controlling shareholders’ stakes, a provision increasingly expected to be incorporated into the tentatively titled Digital Asset Basic Act, widely referred to as the second phase of virtual asset legislation. Lee said existing regulations, including the Act on Reporting and Using Specified Financial Transaction Information and the Act on the Protection of Virtual Asset Users, mainly focus on anti-money laundering and investor protection. By contrast, the new bill is intended to serve as a comprehensive legal framework governing the entire virt

Jan 28, 2026By Jun Ji-hye

Jun Ji-hye

Read more

Bithumb's 620,000-bitcoin mishap exposes systemic internal control failure

KakaoBank posts record profit for 2025 on higher non-interest income

STOs emerge as key engine for pushing Kosdaq toward 3,000 level

Stock trading fever grips Koreans morning and night in bull market

Korea bolsters AI capabilities to tackle crypto market manipulation

Korea's US FX monitoring list status has limited market impact

Financial watchdog chief's growing clout comes into focus after agency avoids public institution status

Hana Financial chief cleared of legal risk as top court backs acquittal

5 major banks plan $350 million low-interest loan for Samsung chip plant

Gov't to impose cap on crypto exchange ownership, citing broader public role

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