South Korean Lawmaker's Aide Suspected of Pressuring Financial Regulators to Interfere in Upbit and Bithumb Stablecoin Fee Competition

According to BLOCKMEDIA, South Korean police are investigating a case of political interference in crypto market competition. The former aide of independent lawmaker Kim Byung-ki was alleged to have pressured the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) in February last year, forcing Upbit to terminate fee reduction campaigns for $USDC and $USDT to alleviate the financial pressure suffered by competitor Bithumb due to launching zero-fee promotions. The suspicion lies in the fact that the aide secured an informal advisory position at Bithumb several months after the interference occurred, while the lawmaker's son was also hired as an intern by the exchange. Bithumb denied knowledge of any political interference, insisting that the fee adjustment was an independent business decision.