'Coin Controversy' Kim Nam-guk Spotted at Highway Rest Area: "Where Are You Going for 5·18?"

Attorney Bae Seung-hee Shares Received Photos on SNS
Assemblyman Kim Appears at Gapyeong Rest Area on the 18th

On the 18th, claims emerged that Kim Nam-guk, a lawmaker who left the Democratic Party of Korea amid controversy over large-scale cryptocurrency (virtual asset) trading and holdings, was spotted at a highway rest area.

On the 18th, Representative Kim Nam-guk appeared at the Gapyeong Service Area on the highway. [Image source=Captured from Lawyer Bae Seung-hee's Facebook]

Lawyer Bae Seung-hee posted on her Facebook that day, "Is this... really Kim Nam-guk? Someone sent this saying they saw him at Gapyeong Rest Area." The photo she shared shows Kim standing by the trunk of a car parked at the highway rest area, conversing with a person presumed to be his aide. In the photo, Kim is dressed casually, wearing a beige jumper with a hood and sneakers. Bae sarcastically added, "Where are you going for the May 18th event? And you look happy?"

On that day, many lawmakers from the People Power Party, as well as from the Democratic Party and the Justice Party, attended the May 18th Democratic Movement memorial ceremony held in Gwangju. However, judging from Kim’s attire, it is presumed that he was not on his way to the official event.

The day before, under the direction of party leader Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party filed a complaint against Kim Nam-guk with the National Assembly’s Ethics Special Committee. Earlier, on the 10th, Kim himself requested a fact-finding investigation, which the party accepted, forming an investigative team that requested detailed documents from Kim on the 11th. However, Kim ultimately did not submit the documents and left the party.

Kim Han-gyu, the floor spokesperson participating in the fact-finding team, said on the 16th, "We requested detailed documents before his departure, but have not yet received them. We requested cooperation and documents from Kim again, but have not heard back from him." It was reported that Kim expressed concerns about his right to defense regarding a possible search and seizure.

Additionally, before leaving the party, Kim was advised to sell his cryptocurrency holdings and had agreed to comply, but it is known that he later indicated that even this would be difficult. Kim Byung-gi, the chief secretary-general of the fact-finding team, responded only that they had "not confirmed" whether Kim had expressed his intention to sell all the coins he holds.

With Kim Nam-guk’s complaint filed to the National Assembly’s Ethics Special Committee, the activities of the fact-finding team and the ethics inspection team investigating Kim’s allegations have been suspended.