Bithumb VP Suicide Amid Stock Manipulation Probe

Park Mo, Vice President of Vidente Co., committed suicide on December 30 by jumping from his house in southern Seoul during the early morning hours. Park was under active investigation by South Korean authorities for allegations of stock price manipulation and embezzlement at the time of his death. His passing marks a dramatic escalation in the legal troubles surrounding Bithumb Holdings Co., one of South Korea’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, where Vidente serves as the largest shareholder with approximately 34.22% ownership.

The corporate relationships involved in this case reveal a tightly-knit network of control. Park served as the accountant for Kang Jong-hyun, who is both Park’s brother and the Chairman of Bithumb as well as Vice President of Vidente. This familial and professional connection placed Park at the center of Bithumb’s ownership structure, with Vidente’s NASDAQ listing adding an international dimension to the unfolding scandal. The interconnected nature of these relationships suggests potential conflicts of interest and raises questions about corporate governance within the cryptocurrency exchange’s leadership.

South Korean authorities were investigating multiple serious financial crimes involving Bithumb’s corporate affiliates before Park’s death. The allegations centered on stock price manipulation, embezzlement of public funds, and the creation of slush funds through complex financial instruments. According to investigative sources, the Kang siblings—Kang Jong-hyun and his sister Kang Ji-Yeon, who serves as CEO of Inbiogen—had allegedly placed all blame for the financial crimes on Park Mo.

The scope of the investigation extended beyond individual misconduct to include systematic issues within Bithumb’s corporate ecosystem. Authorities threatened to seize three Bithumb affiliates—Vidente, Inbiogen, and Bucket Studio—in October, indicating the breadth of their concerns about financial irregularities. The investigation uncovered evidence that the Kang siblings were accused of manipulating stock prices, creating convertible bonds, and stealing money from loaned companies to establish slush funds for obtaining unlawful benefits. This pattern suggests coordinated financial misconduct rather than isolated incidents.

Adding to the exchange’s legal challenges, another Bithumb subsidiary officer faced trial on November 16 for allegedly deleting and concealing evidence related to the investigation. The defendant was accused of hiding and erasing investment-related documents before search and seizure operations, demonstrating attempts to obstruct justice within the organization. With Park’s death, the prosecution’s case against him will likely be dismissed, though investigations into other parties continue.

The tragedy surrounding Park Mo represents just one facet of the extensive legal problems plaguing Bithumb and its leadership. In October, separate reports indicated that Lee Jung-hoon, the former chairman of Bithumb, was under criminal investigation for fraud allegations. The case involved accusations that Jung-hoon scammed Kim Byung-gun, chairman of BK Group—a cosmetic surgery business—out of $70 million in a takeover agreement for the cryptocurrency exchange.

This pattern of legal issues spanning multiple executives and time periods suggests systemic governance problems within Bithumb’s operations. The combination of stock manipulation allegations, embezzlement claims, evidence tampering charges, and major fraud investigations paints a picture of an organization facing comprehensive regulatory and legal scrutiny. The involvement of multiple corporate entities—Vidente, Inbiogen, and Bucket Studio—indicates that the problems may extend throughout Bithumb’s corporate network rather than being confined to the exchange itself.

The succession of legal challenges raises significant concerns about the stability and regulatory compliance of one of South Korea’s prominent cryptocurrency platforms. With authorities pursuing multiple lines of investigation simultaneously, the future of Bithumb and its affiliated companies remains uncertain. The tragic death of Park Mo underscores the high stakes involved in these investigations and the personal toll such corporate scandals can exact on those caught in their wake.