South Korean officials recently approved plans to amend the country’s Public Service Law to include virtual assets, including cryptocurrency.
Currently, government officials must report stocks, bonds, jewellery, gifted members and other assets worth more than 1 million Korean won — about $760 — but no such declaration is required for digital assets under South Korean law applies. The plan follows a scandal involving Kim Nam-kuk, a former member of the South Korean Democratic Party.
Kim was accused of making more than $4.5 million in cryptocurrency last year before a law change that would have prevented such activities. In response to the allegations, Kim claims that he had no duty to disclose the events surrounding his digital assets and that he never lost his possessions – which are believed to be around 800,000 Wemix Coins (US$4.5) – but only transfer them to another exchange. Kim suspended the South Korean Democratic Party as an independent party to support his defence.
The South Korean government responded by drafting an amendment to the existing law that will incorporate digital assets such as cryptocurrency into the law that requires the disclosure of other assets.
According to a translation of the official announcement about the change provided by Google Translate:
“Recently, it was discovered that an active member of the National Assembly has a good amount of money, but the details of the statement of the lawmaker are missing, which is reported as a loophole in the law.”
A subcommittee proposed and approved the change on May 19. According to the document, it will be put to the final vote at the session on May 25.
The South Korean legislature has been involved in a number of projects regarding the regulation of cryptocurrencies and related matters since the May 2022 launch of the Luna and Terra Blockchain. This includes a proposed cryptocurrency sweeping bill in April 2023 that would require stiffer penalties for related crimes with fines and penalties ranging from one year to life in prison.
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