Public Administration Committee and Political Reform Special Committee Hold Subcommittee Meeting to Review Related Laws
Aiming for Plenary Session Approval on the 25th
The mandatory disclosure of virtual asset-related property for public officials, including members of the National Assembly, is being promoted. The National Assembly is speeding up the process with a schedule to swiftly review the related bills and pass the relevant laws at the plenary session on the 25th. A plan to include virtual assets in the registration of interests for members of the National Assembly to prevent conflicts of interest is also being pursued simultaneously.
On the 22nd, the Administrative Safety Committee and the Special Committee on Political Reform each held subcommittee meetings to review bills related to virtual assets. First, the Administrative Safety Committee discussed the "Public Officials Ethics Act Amendment" that includes virtual assets in the property disclosure requirements for public officials.
Currently, public officials are required to register property ownership if the amount exceeds 10 million KRW per owner for cash, stocks, bonds, etc. However, virtual assets have been excluded from the property registration requirements. In the case of Representative Kim Nam-guk, who became an issue this time, there was a large-scale increase in assets through virtual assets, but due to loopholes in the Public Officials Ethics Act, the process of asset increase was not disclosed.
Kim Nam-guk, an independent lawmaker who continues to face controversy over holding virtual assets, is entering his office at the National Assembly Members' Office Building in Yeouido, Seoul, on the morning of the 9th. [Image source=Yonhap News]
Although there are differences in details, the related laws generally include virtual assets in property registration if the amount held per owner exceeds 10 million KRW. Regarding this, Representative Kim Han-gyu of the Democratic Party and Representative Kim Seong-won of the People Power Party proposed calculating the valuation of virtual assets using the evaluation method applied in the Inheritance Tax and Gift Tax Act. Representative Kwon Seong-dong of the People Power Party suggested a threshold of 5 million KRW or more, and Representative Yoon Doo-hyun of the People Power Party proposed including virtual assets with a reporting threshold of 1 million KRW or more.
The Administrative Safety Committee plans to hold a full committee meeting on the 24th to complete the review so that the bill can be submitted to the plenary session on the 25th.
The Special Committee on Political Reform also held a subcommittee meeting on the same day to review amendments to the National Assembly Act related to virtual assets. The committee is discussing a plan to include virtual assets, which are currently excluded from the registration of private interests for members of the National Assembly, as a registration item. When a member of the National Assembly is elected, they will be required to report virtual assets to the Ethics Review Committee from the registration stage, and will be able to apply for voting on agenda items and speaking fees accordingly.
In the case of Representative Kim, there were criticisms of conflicts of interest, such as participating in the proposal of a tax deferral bill related to virtual assets while holding a large amount of virtual assets.
The Special Committee on Political Reform plans to hold a full committee meeting in the afternoon to complete the review.
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