Ex-South Korean Lawmaker Faces Prison for Hiding $6.8M in Crypto Assets

• South Korean ex-lawmaker Kim Nam-guk faces jail for concealing $6.8M in crypto assets, violating public officials’ duty.
• The push for crypto institutionalization in South Korea grows as digital assets outpace the stock market in value.
• South Korea’s failure to regulate crypto threatens its financial competitiveness, urges Korea Exchange Chairman.

Former South Korean lawmaker Kim Nam-guk faces a six-month prison sentence for hiding his cryptocurrency holdings. The prosecution claims that Kim concealed approximately 9.9 billion won (around 6.8 million USD) worth of coins between 2021 and 2022. He allegedly violated public officials’ duty to report assets. This case highlights increasing scrutiny of cryptocurrency ownership among public figures.

Details of the Case and Alleged Misconduct

Kim is accused of obstructing the National Assembly’s review of his assets. He allegedly moved coin deposits into bank accounts to disguise his earnings from cryptocurrency investments. This move aimed to prevent the Ethics Committee from identifying his profits. In 2021, Kim reported a total of 1.2 billion won in assets while hiding almost 10 billion won in coins. Similarly, in 2022, he concealed 990 million won worth of cryptocurrency holdings.

The prosecution’s evidence suggests that Kim transferred coin deposits into bank accounts and reported his assets inaccurately. This effort to obscure his wealth violated transparency laws for public officials. Consequently, Kim now faces legal consequences for misreporting his property to the National Assembly.

Push for Crypto Institutionalization in South Korea

Meanwhile, Jeong Eun-bo, chairman of the Korea Exchange, urges South Korea to institutionalize cryptocurrency. He emphasizes that cryptocurrencies can no longer be disregarded by traditional markets. With the growing influence of digital assets, Jeong suggests South Korea should integrate crypto into institutional finance.

He pointed out that the country’s failure to establish clear regulatory standards for crypto has hindered market growth. Moreover, South Korea risks falling behind other countries unless it revives its crypto market. The digital assets sector, Jeong noted, has outperformed the domestic stock market since the US election rally in early November.

Additionally, Jeong stressed the importance of adapting stock exchanges to embrace the crypto market. This, he believes, is essential to maintaining the competitiveness of traditional financial markets. Hence, institutionalizing crypto in South Korea will allow for the creation of new economic value and align the nation with international financial trends.