South Korean lawmakers, comprising the National Assembly, have been revealed to have engaged in cryptocurrency transactions amounting to nearly $100 million over a span of three years, as unveiled by a report released by the nation’s Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission on December 29. The disclosure emerged following an extensive three-month examination into the digital asset dealings of all 298 incumbent lawmakers during the period from May 30, 2020, to May 31, 2023.
Within this investigative scope, it was determined that 18 out of the 298 legislators had records indicating possession of digital assets during the three-year timeframe, with a mere 11 of them responsible for the aggregate trading volume observed. The report outlines that the total value of cryptocurrency in lawmakers’ accounts is estimated at 125.6 billion Korean won, equivalent to $97.6 million.
Predominantly, Bitcoin emerged as the favored cryptocurrency among South Korean legislators, although the report identifies an additional 107 crypto assets within their portfolios. The revelation of lawmakers’ involvement in cryptocurrency trading comes in the wake of a scandal that transpired in May 2023, when a member of the local Democratic Party faced scrutiny for undisclosed holdings amounting to at least $4.5 million in Wemix (WEMIX) tokens.
Consequently, the South Korean government passed a unanimous vote mandating the compulsory disclosure of crypto assets by civil servants. Commencing in 2024, nearly 6,000 South Korean officials will be required to publicly divulge their cryptocurrency holdings through the Public Official Ethics System. Additionally, five prominent South Korean cryptocurrency exchanges, namely Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit, and Gopax, are set to launch individual “information provision systems,” streamlining the registration process for details pertaining to crypto holdings.