Legal
On Tuesday, May 23, South Korea’s ruling party – People Power Party (PPP) – requested a new bill asking lawmakers and other high-level government officials to introduce crypto laws and rules at the earliest.
Rep. Yun Jae-ok, the floor leader of PP made the remarks to reporters. He asked for preponing the enforcement of crypto rules currently scheduled for December. Representative Jae-ok added that the current timeline is too late and the bill shall be revised for an additional clause moving up the enforcement.
On Monday, May 22, the lawmakers passed the revision to the Public Service Ethics Act via a parliamentary subcommittee. As reported by local news publication Yonhap News, Yun Jae-ok asked a leader of the Public Administration Committee to propose a modified version. The representative said:
“Given the current high level of public interest, especially regarding lawmakers, it’s not appropriate to enforce the law six months later after the promulgation”.
Crypto Laws to Force Lawmakers to Declare Their Holdings
The bill also asks lawmakers and other government officials to report cryptocurrencies in their annual asset disclosure. Also, the bill seeks to bring greater transparency in the crypto asset holdings of lawmakers following a recent crypto scandal involving now-independent lawmaker Kim Nam-kuk.
Kim, affiliated with the opposition Democratic Party owned around 800,000 Wemix coins in 2021, worth around 6 billion won (US$4.5 million) at that time. However, Kim didn’t disclose them as part of his personal assets, unlike other disclosures for cash, stocks, and bonds.
Besides, in fresh suspicions, Yun said that Kim cashed 250 million won worth of coins in February. “At the time of asset declaration, Rep. Kim did not report 250 million won he withdrew in cash. Where did the money go?” Yun said.
Yun also said that there’s a possibility of Kim using his crypto dealings for money laundering. Also, the push for crypto rules comes at a time when Hong Kong is preparing its own crypto laws. With this Hong Kong is trying to establish itself as the crypto hub of Asia. Thus, the introduction of formal crypto laws by South Korea will bring clarity for crypto businesses to work in the country.
