A South Korean legislator is leaving his party amid mounting allegations of massive cryptocurrency investments at odds with his frugal public image. The dispute, which has caught the attention of the Korean community, includes accusations of conflict of interest and other irregularities.
Lawmaker Leaves South Korea’s Opposition Party Over Cryptocurrency Holdings
Kim Nam-kuk, a representative in the National Assembly of South Korea, has announced that he is leaving his political faction amid a growing scandal surrounding his alleged cryptocurrency deals. In a Facebook post on Sunday, he wrote:
Today, I’m leaving the Democratic Party, which I love, for a little while. I decided that it wouldn’t be right for me to be a burden to the party and party members anymore.
Yonhap reports that Kim came under intense scrutiny after it was revealed that he owned about 800,000 Wemix coins in 2021. At the time, the digital assets were worth about 6 billion won ($4.5 million), “a large amount that belies his frugal image,” According to the news agency.
On Wednesday, the main opposition force in parliament, the Democratic Party of Korea, urged Kim to sell assets, a call the first-term lawmaker accepted. The party’s ethics committee launched an investigation into the coin trading which has now been suspended.
Korean lawmaker suspects conflict of interest and cryptocurrency insider trading
It was reported that the South Korean politician withdrew all his coins last March, before carrying out the so-called ‘Travel rule‘ in the country. Cryptocurrency exchanges are required to report the personal information of cryptocurrency holders when the amount transferred exceeds 1 million won.
Critics have pointed out that Kim Nam-kuk’s crypto holdings may pose a conflict of interest because he was one of the co-sponsors of a bill proposing to delay income tax on virtual assets in July 2021. This was nearly six months before his coins were withdrawn, Yonhap revealed in a report earlier this week. .
While Kim maintained that there were no irregularities in his trading and disclosed some of his transaction data, Korean media also highlighted suspicions about the source of funds for his cryptocurrency investments and that he used inside information.
He also said on Sunday that “I believe I should not cause any kind of harm to the party at this important time,” while vowing to “stand against the unjust political attack to the end and expose the truth.” Kim further indicated that as an independent legislator, he will demand legal accountability over media reports that he claims are based on false facts.
What are your thoughts on the South Korean politician’s crypto investment case? Tell us in the comments section below.
Image credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons, Kim Nam-kuk
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