Kim Namguk, the Presidential Office's Digital Communications Secretary, who is facing charges of falsely reporting his assets in order to conceal his large holdings of virtual assets, pleaded for leniency in court.
Former Democratic Party lawmaker Namguk Kim, who was indicted on charges of falsely reporting assets to the National Assembly to conceal the possession of a large amount of virtual assets (coins), is speaking after being acquitted in the first trial held at the Seoul Southern District Court on the 10th. Photo by Yonhap News
The Criminal Appellate Division 3-1 of the Seoul Southern District Court (Presiding Judges Lim Sunji, Cho Gyuseol, and Yoo Hwanwoo) held the first appellate hearing and closing arguments on July 17 for Secretary Kim, who has been indicted on charges of obstruction of official duties by fraudulent means.
Secretary Kim's attorney argued, "At the time, virtual assets were not subject to mandatory disclosure under the relevant laws," and added, "It is necessary to strictly determine whether criminal punishment is possible, rather than focusing on moral or political responsibility."
During his final statement, Secretary Kim was moved to tears. He said, "When I think about the high expectations the public has for public officials, I feel endlessly sorry and deeply regretful."
Secretary Kim is accused of obstructing the Public Officials Ethics Committee's review of changes in asset declarations. He is suspected of transferring part of his virtual asset account deposits to a bank account to match the total reported assets ahead of the 2021 and 2022 National Assembly asset disclosures, and of converting the remaining deposits into virtual assets. Additionally, prosecutors believe that Secretary Kim concealed virtual asset deposits totaling 9.9 billion won during the asset change report process in February 2022. Secretary Kim was acquitted in the first trial on February 10.
The prosecution requested a six-month prison sentence for Secretary Kim in the appellate trial, the same as in the first trial. Prosecutors stated, "The defendant used all of the account deposits to purchase coins in order to evade detection during the asset review," and added, "The National Assembly Public Officials Ethics Committee was unaware of the hidden assets and was therefore unable to request any explanation."
The appellate verdict for Secretary Kim is scheduled to be delivered at 2:00 p.m. on August 21.
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