National Assembly Cryptocurrency Trading Investigation Reveals Disclosure Gaps

In the last three years, 18 members of the National Assembly traded cryptocurrencies, with 10 not reporting their military discharge while holding or trading virtual assets. The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission completed a full investigation into the 21st National Assembly’s virtual asset dealings and sent the findings to Speaker Kim Jin-pyo. This followed a resolution passed in May by the National Assembly after a controversy involving independent lawmaker Kim Nam-kook possessing a substantial amount of cryptocurrency. The ACRC formed a ‘Special Investigation Team on Virtual Assets of Lawmakers’ and found that 18 lawmakers, around 6% of the total, disclosed their cryptocurrency holdings. The most popular among them was Bitcoin. Eleven lawmakers who traded during the investigation had significant transactions. Ten lawmakers didn’t register their virtual asset ownership or changes as required. Some lawmakers’ cryptocurrency transactions had unclear details on deposits/withdrawals, posing challenges in verifying related parties. Three lawmakers involved in virtual asset-related legislation didn’t breach conflict-of-interest regulations due to certain legal exemptions. The ACRC suggested amending National Assembly rules to enhance virtual asset registration and prevent omissions in the future.

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