South Korean Lawmaker Faces Prison Over Undisclosed Crypto Holdings

According to Cointelegraph, Kim Nam-kuk, a member of South Korea’s National Assembly, is facing a potential six-month prison sentence for allegedly failing to report his complete cryptocurrency holdings to the government. This development follows a report from South Korean news outlet Dong-A Ilbo, which stated that prosecutors have requested this sentence for Kim, who is currently on trial in Seoul. Kim is accused of underreporting his total assets in 2021, declaring them at 1.2 billion won (approximately $834,356 at the time), while allegedly possessing 9.9 billion won in digital assets. Furthermore, he reportedly concealed 990 million won worth of cryptocurrency holdings in 2022. Prosecutors claim that Kim obstructed the National Assembly Ethics Committee’s review by not fully declaring his crypto assets, which could pose conflicts of interest for elected officials. In 2023, Kim left the Democratic Party amid allegations that he liquidated millions in cryptocurrency before South Korea began enforcing the Financial Action Task Force’s Travel Rule. He reportedly argued that he had transferred the funds to another exchange and was not obligated to declare them to the government. Since assuming office in 2020, Kim has been involved in legislation related to digital assets, including a proposal by the Democratic Party to delay a 20% tax on crypto gains from 2023 to 2025. Lawmakers later agreed to extend this delay until 2027. Kim’s trial has been largely overshadowed by significant political events in South Korea, particularly President Yoon Suk Yeol’s unexpected declaration of martial law on December 3. This move prompted lawmakers from both the Democratic Party and Yoon’s People Power Party to scale parliament buildings to bypass military guards and vote on rescinding the declaration. Following the vote, Yoon agreed to lift martial law but refused to resign, despite calls from many lawmakers for him to step down. On December 14, the National Assembly voted 204 out of 300 to impeach President Yoon. The Constitutional Court of Korea now has 180 days to review the impeachment, which will determine whether Yoon is removed from office. In response to the impeachment decision, Han Dong-hoon, leader of the People Power Party, announced his resignation on December 16.