The Public reported that Bithumb, the second-largest digital asset exchange in South Korea, is suspected of unfairly reducing its corporate tax burden by treating the costs of providing high-value benefits, such as overseas trips and luxury gifts, to VVIP members with monthly transaction volumes exceeding 100 billion won, as sales promotion expenses. Bithumb has been treating the costs associated with benefits provided to VVIP members as promotional expenses with no limit, but the National Tax Service (NTS) takes the position that these appear to fall under corporate entertainment expenses (접대비) according to tax law. Membership benefits provided quarterly include golf, yachting, hotels, overseas travel, and luxury gifts, with overseas travel valued at 15 million won, luxury flagship store shopping thank-you gifts at 10 million won, professional golfer field lessons at 8 million won, yacht tours at 5 million won, and golf rounds and holiday gifts each at 3 million won.
