Bithumb to hold AGM on the 31st; seeks to reappoint CEO Lee Jae-won and raise debt issuance cap

Bithumb, a major South Korean virtual asset exchange, will hold a shareholders’ meeting at the end of this month and seek to reappoint incumbent CEO Lee Jae-won. The company also plans to pursue a significant increase in its limit for issuing corporate bonds through the meeting.

According to the industry on the 19th, Bithumb will put on the agenda of its annual general meeting on the 31st the reappointment (renewal) of CEO Lee and inside director Hwang Seung-wook. Whether Lee is reappointed will be finalized by the board after the shareholders’ meeting.

The company will also submit an agenda item to amend its articles of incorporation to double the issuance limit for convertible bonds (CBs) and bonds with warrants (BWs) to 300 billion won. The market views the move as Bithumb seeking to secure financial firepower in preparation for a future reshuffle of South Korea’s virtual asset market.

Bithumb also plans to pass an agenda item to appoint Jeong Yeon-dae, a tax accountant and adjunct professor in the Department of Business Administration at Sogang University, as a new auditor to strengthen internal controls and accounting transparency. Jeong, the incoming auditor candidate, is a tax and accounting expert who previously served as an auditor at Korea Alternative Investment Asset Management.

An agenda item will also be submitted to change the name of Bithumb affiliate Bithumb A to “Bithumb Asset.” Established in the second half of last year through a corporate split-off from Bithumb, Bithumb A oversees holding and investment businesses excluding the virtual asset exchange operation.