Democratic Party Considers Full Investigation of Affiliated Lawmakers' Coins... Also Promotes "Virtual Asset Property Disclosure"

The Investigation Team Held Its First Meeting Today and Launched
Kim Nam-guk Shares Updates on Coin Allegations
Park Kwang-on: "Public Officials' Asset Disclosures to Include Virtual Assets"

The Democratic Party of Korea is reportedly considering a full survey to ascertain the virtual asset holdings of its 169 members of parliament and their aides, triggered by allegations of a 6 billion KRW cryptocurrency investment involving MP Kim Nam-guk. Additionally, the party plans to push legislation to include virtual assets in public officials' asset disclosures.

On the morning of the 11th, the Democratic Party held the first meeting of the fact-finding team investigating MP Kim's cryptocurrency investments. The team is led by Kim Byung-gi, the party's Senior Deputy Secretary-General, and includes economic experts within the party such as MPs Hong Sung-guk and Lee Yong-woo, as well as lawyer-turned-MP Kim Han-gyu. It is also reported that external experts will join the team in the future.

The investigation team plans to discuss party-level responses, including a full survey of MPs and aides holding virtual assets. A team official stated, "Today, we will organize and share the allegations raised so far, then report various opinions within the party. There seems to be talk about conducting a full survey not only of MPs but also their aides. If a full survey is conducted, we need to comprehensively discuss the level and scope of disciplinary actions."

During the meeting, details such as the specific circumstances, content, and investment amounts related to MP Kim's cryptocurrency investment allegations were shared. Before the meeting, MP Kim Byung-gi told reporters, "I expect that many doubts will be resolved by reviewing account transaction records and cryptocurrency trading histories related to the issues raised so far. MP Kim Nam-guk has stated he will submit relevant materials and actively cooperate with the investigation, so the inquiry is expected to proceed swiftly."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The party leadership also swiftly moved to manage the Kim Nam-guk situation by promising improvements to the public officials' asset registration system. At a policy coordination meeting held at the National Assembly that morning, Floor Leader Park Kwang-on said, "The issues surrounding MP Kim Nam-guk's virtual asset transactions and holdings have clearly highlighted the need to supplement the public officials' asset registration system and the conflict of interest prevention system. We will promptly amend the Public Officials Ethics Act and related laws." The party plans to add virtual assets to the list of assets subject to registration and reporting, and include them in conflict of interest disclosures to address loopholes in the National Assembly members' asset disclosure system.

Floor Leader Park added, "Since there are already bills proposed by our party members such as Shin Young-dae, we will prioritize and expedite their processing. Virtual assets have long been recognized as a means of wealth accumulation, and transactions for investment purposes have surged. The National Assembly Research Service has also presented the legislative opinion to include virtual assets in asset registration." After introducing the U.S. policy mandating reporting of virtual asset income exceeding $200, he said, "The Democratic Party takes seriously the criticism that we have not kept pace with the speed of change. We will use this opportunity to review public officials' ethical standards and norms and strengthen transparency."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

MP Kim is suspected of holding and investing in cryptocurrencies worth at least 6 billion KRW and up to approximately 10 billion KRW from 2021 to 2022. Earlier, the Democratic Party advised MP Kim Nam-guk to sell virtual assets currently estimated at about 910 million KRW, which he accepted. In a statement released the previous day, MP Kim said, "I will transparently disclose materials to the fact-finding team going forward and sincerely cooperate with the investigation. Specific timing, procedures, and methods for the sale will be discussed with the party's fact-finding team and reported to the public."

Previously, The Better Future (Deo Mirae), the largest parliamentary group within the Democratic Party, issued a statement the day before saying, "We take seriously the public's unresolved suspicions regarding the cryptocurrency investment controversy involving a party member and urge the party to take the following measures: Recognizing the institutional loophole that virtual assets are not subject to asset reporting under the Public Officials Ethics Act, conduct a full survey on whether all party members have invested in cryptocurrencies and the details thereof." A fact-finding team official said, "Since the need for a full survey has already been raised, it will be impossible not to discuss it."

Meanwhile, the upcoming plenary session of the National Assembly's Political Affairs Committee in the afternoon is expected to focus heavily on inquiries regarding MP Kim Nam-guk's virtual asset allegations.