Junghoon Lee, the former chairman of the board of directors of Bithumb Holdings and Bithumb Korea, who was indicted on charges of fraud worth 110 billion won, was finally found not guilty.

According to the legal community on the 17th, the first division of the Supreme Court (Chief Justice Seo Kyung-hwan) confirmed the original ruling that acquitted the former chairman Lee

Junghoon Lee, the former chairman of Bithumb Holdings and Bithumb Korea, who was indicted on charges of fraud worth 110 billion won, has finally been acquitted.

According to the legal community on the 17th, the first division of the Supreme Court (Chief Justice Seo Kyung-hwan) confirmed the original ruling that acquitted former chairman Lee, who was accused of fraud and other charges under the Aggravated Punishment Act on Specific Economic Crimes.

As a result, it is evaluated that the “major shareholder judicial risk” that followed Bithumb has also been completely resolved. Former chairman Lee is a de facto major shareholder who holds about two-thirds of Bithumb Holdings' stake, including friendly forces.

Former chairman Lee reportedly proposed to BK Group Chairman Kim Byung-gun in October 2018 to manage Bithumb together.

Chairman Kim said at the time that he would acquire a stake in Bithumb Holdings for $350 million through a BK Global consortium.

However, Chairman Kim failed to return the down payment worth $100 million (112 billion won at the time) because he could not pay the balance until the deadline for payment of the acquisition payment.

In this regard, Chairman Kim claimed that former Chairman Lee stole the down payment by deceiving him that he would issue a virtual asset called “Bithumb Coin (BXA)” and list it on Bithumb.

In fact, in January 2019, Bithumb announced the listing of BXA Coin, but failed to list it due to regulations by financial authorities. This is because the Financial Services Commission banned the disclosure of all forms of virtual assets (ICO) between 2017 and 2018. The Financial Services Commission has also expressed its intention to ban indirect listing through overseas.

Prosecutors indicted Lee without detention in July 2021, and later sought eight years in prison for him in a trial.

However, the court considered that the reason why former chairman Lee did not commit to listing BXA coins and failed to list was not related to former chairman Lee's intention or ability.

The first trial acquitted Lee because there was no evidence to believe that he had promised Kim to list BXA.

The second trial also acquitted him, saying, "Some exaggerated statements and violations of the obligation to notify may be considered in relation to civil liability, but the conclusion of the contract itself is insufficient to be regarded as a fraud subject to punishment under the criminal law." The Supreme Court also saw no problem with the ruling.

On the other hand, some predict that Bithumb's listing could start in earnest. This is because the legal risk of major shareholders has been resolved.

An official from Bithumb said, "We are preparing to be listed within this year."