[Yeouido Interview] "The National Assembly Is at Fault"... Kim Han-gyu's Reflection on the Flood of Virtual Asset Laws

"Democratic Party Must Select Young Talents in Next Year's Nominations"
"Virtual Assets Should Be Reflected in Public Officials' Asset Declarations"

"In the National Assembly, we must make it mandatory to report all assets that have a certain value."

Kim Han-gyu, a 49-year-old member of the Democratic Party of Korea, recently stated in an interview with Asia Economy that a full investigation of virtual assets by National Assembly members is necessary. Like the case of Kim Nam-guk, who left the Democratic Party amid allegations of a 6 billion KRW coin investment, virtual assets are excluded from the asset disclosure process for public officials because they are not subject to reporting. As a result, the holdings of incumbent National Assembly members have not been disclosed. This means that virtual assets can serve as a means of hiding funds, contrary to the purpose of public officials' asset disclosure, and conflicts of interest cannot be verified if they arise.

Kim believes that the National Assembly has neglected its duties regarding virtual assets. He said, "They should have made it mandatory to report any assets, including virtual assets, but instead, they set a list and only allowed reporting based on that list. Through prompt legislation, they should have enabled reporting of any assets, including virtual assets."

Democratic Party of Korea Floor Spokesperson Kim Han-gyu. Photo by Huh Young-han younghan@

Kim, who was elected in the by-election last June, will mark one year of legislative activity next month. He is currently active in the National Assembly’s Political Affairs Committee, the Special Committee on Budget and Accounts, the Committee on Women and Family, and the Special Committee on Population Crisis, and serves as the Democratic Party’s floor spokesperson. He said, "The population crisis seems to be the most important issue going forward. I intend to focus on this issue, prepare related policies, and raise my voice as a legislator" during the remaining year of the 21st National Assembly.

Below is a Q&A.

- How have you spent the past year?

▲ I have been really busy. Since my term is only half that of other members, I had a strong desire to achieve results. Besides my standing committees, I recently took on the role of floor spokesperson, and I feel a sense of accomplishment despite the busy schedule. Now that I am getting used to the system, I want to concretize the things I resolved to do and make the remaining year meaningful.

- What have you felt while working as a National Assembly member?

▲ There are many difficult working conditions. Although the livelihood economy is important, there is very little time to devote to legislative activities. A lot of time is spent on constituency events, and too much energy is spent on political issues even within the National Assembly. When there are no plenary or committee meetings, members should be sitting down and thinking deeply, but is that the case in our Assembly? If a competitor is in the constituency, members feel uneasy and cannot stay in the Assembly. Members become legislators with a calling to work for the country and the people, but I have heard from colleagues complaints about the lack of time to do what they want and feelings of self-doubt about whether they are doing well in their legislative duties.

- What are your regrets?

▲ Each National Assembly member is a constitutional institution, but for a bill to pass, it ultimately requires the consent of the majority. If there is no bipartisan agreement, no party can easily pass laws. Despite the desire to work, it is regrettable that many bills fail due to lack of bipartisan cooperation. Also, I think the practice of setting important matters in laws and delegating details to enforcement ordinances needs to change. Currently, due to lack of expertise, members roughly set standards and delegate to the executive branch. This institutional practice undermines the authority of the legislature and allows the executive to bypass the legislative branch. The National Assembly should build more expertise and complete legislation on its own.

- Regarding the controversy over Kim Nam-guk’s virtual asset investments, you have called for a full investigation of National Assembly members’ virtual assets.

▲ The public has suspicions about virtual assets. This is a failure of the National Assembly. Through prompt legislation, they should have enabled reporting of any assets, including virtual assets. Currently, only assets on a set list are reported. The National Assembly should make it mandatory to report all assets above a certain value.

Democratic Party of Korea Floor Spokesperson Kim Han-gyu. Photo by Huh Young-han younghan@

- You have proposed many bills related to virtual assets, including amendments to the Public Officials Ethics Act to include virtual assets in asset reporting.

▲ The previous government viewed virtual assets negatively, considering them speculative rather than investment. As a result, virtual assets were excluded from the legal framework and asset registration. Currently, virtual assets are excluded from health insurance premium calculations, and it is impossible to track the assets of those in arrears. Recently, the Political Affairs Committee passed the Act on the Protection of Virtual Asset Users, allowing virtual assets to be treated the same as other assets. Accordingly, I am drafting bills to treat virtual assets equally with other assets. I have urgently proposed related laws such as the National Health Insurance Act and the Depositor Protection Act, and plan to propose more bills in the future.

- It seems that through the controversy involving Kim Nam-guk, virtual assets are gaining more recognition as assets.

▲ That effect exists. However, there is still a perception that investing in virtual assets is speculative. The public tends not to acknowledge the utility or legality of virtual assets, but since many young people are investing, pretending not to know or judging it as undesirable is not appropriate.

- Voices for reform have emerged following incidents such as the money envelope scandal at the party convention and the Kim Nam-guk controversy. What kind of reform is needed?

▲ For the next general election nominations, the leadership must artificially make efforts to bring in young and active people. Progressivism is the power to pursue change, and people fitting that should be working. I am in my late 40s and among the younger members in the party. Thinking about the future, those who will lead Korea should be involved in politics. Politics is ultimately about image, and between the 2020 general election victory and the April 7, 2021 by-election, the Democratic Party failed to create a better image than the People Power Party. The Democratic Party lost its youthful and dynamic feel and its moral superiority. Politics is ultimately done by people.

- There are also questions about why you chose the Democratic Party given your background at Korea’s largest law firm, Kim & Chang.

▲ Some say there is no difference between the Democratic Party and the People Power Party, but there are many differences. The Democratic Party includes people who feel the importance of political democracy and the democratization generation passed down from senior generations. It respects the free market economy but believes that politics should actively intervene to correct market failures. Some call the Democratic Party conservative, but since it seeks to find and improve dissatisfaction with the present, I consider it broadly progressive. I have no desire to settle for the current society and believe Korea still needs to progress. Also, seeing the presidential office blatantly interfere in the People Power Party’s convention was infuriating as a politician, but no one there raised the issue. I think I would not have tolerated being in that party.

"Politicians Must Study Economics"… Kim Han-gyu’s Economic Reading 'Season 5'

Since entering the National Assembly members’ office building last June, Kim has held ‘Kim Han-gyu’s Economic Reading’ every evening, inviting economic experts for lectures. Starting with Season 1, which examined Korea’s immediate economic challenges, he covered economic outlook (Season 2), markets including real estate, labor, bonds, virtual assets, and stocks (Season 3), and energy (Season 4).

In Season 5, he plans to focus on future industries such as robotics. Kim said, "Even if not immediately necessary, efforts are needed to change the industrial structure that overly depends on specific industries like semiconductors. Through economic reading, I want to understand future industries and explore related legal reforms and national budget support plans."

Kim, who worked as a lawyer at Korea’s largest law firm Kim & Chang, started ‘Economic Reading’ immediately after receiving his gold badge as a legislator, drawing on his experience in the Moon Jae-in administration’s Blue House. As a former senior secretary for political affairs at the Blue House, he said, "I began to think about how the role of the state changes depending on economic policy. Politicians lack experience and expertise in this area compared to bureaucrats, so each administration struggles to fully express its true colors."

He explained, "Even if you cannot win debates with bureaucrats, you can suppress them by force, but to persuade and gain consensus, you need experience to engage in dialogue and discussion. For the Democratic Party to become a governing party, more people need to understand and study economics than now, so I started economic reading." This is part of a long-term strategy for the Democratic Party’s return to power. He emphasized, "The more you study economics, the more you realize it cannot be done in a short time. Since the economic situation keeps changing, you have to keep monitoring and habitually seek policies that fit the situation."

Improving the quality of life for Jeju residents is also a concern for Kim. He said, "In a way, Jeju residents are giving their living area to the entire nation as a resort. Roads have been widened and traffic increased, but if you ask whether the quality of life for Jeju residents has improved, many respond negatively. I am focusing on properly managing the conflict between locals and tourists regarding quality of life."