New law requires South Korean politicians to report their Bitcoin holdings

New law requires South Korean politicians to report their Bitcoin holdings

South Korea's National Assembly has officially passed a bill requiring lawmakers and senior government officials to disclose their crypto asset holdings.

The new law comes in response to a recent scandal in which a politician allegedly violated cryptocurrency campaign finance laws.

The “Kim Nam-guk Prevention Law”

According to areportAccording to local news outlet News1, the relevant amendments to the National Assembly Act and the Public Service Ethics Act were approved unanimously by all present lawmakers on May 22 with 269 and 268 votes, respectively.

The amendment to the National Assembly Law adds cryptocurrency to the list of property rights and “private interests” registered by the legislature. Meanwhile, on the same day, the Committee on Public Administration and Security approved the amendment to the Ethics Law for Public Officials, which requires both high-ranking officials and members of the National Assembly to register their holdings.

The bill was originally supposed to be implemented in December, but was implementedin a fast-track processpostponed to this month after the newly elected leader of the conservative People Power Party, lawmaker Yun Jae-ok, said the previous date was “too late.”

“Given the current high level of public interest, particularly from lawmakers, it is not appropriate to bring the law into force six months later after promulgation,” the party leader said last week, proposing an expedited version of the bill last week.

The “public interest” refers to a high-profile scandal surrounding Kim Nam-guk, who is said to have cashed out $4.5 million in cryptocurrency on the Wemix exchange early last year. The same lawmaker backed a bill in 2022 that would delay a bill imposing a 20% capital gains tax on cryptocurrencies from 2023 to 2025, although he denied there were conflicts of interest.

Still, the revelations led to investigations into the former Democratic congressman for alleged campaign finance violations, tax portals and criminal possession of cryptocurrencies.

Which politicians hold crypto in America?

Lawmakers in the United States are already required to disclose their crypto and Bitcoin holdings, of which only a small number own digital assets. Senator Cynthia Lummisrevealedin 2021 that she owns 5 BTC - three of which she bought for just $300.

Senator Ted Cruz has also admitted to owning just over 2 BTC, respecting the asset as a long-term inflation hedge and decentralized governance. Last month he didcalledthat he has a standing order to buy more Bitcoin every Monday morning.

“I like Bitcoin for the same reason that the communist government of China doesn’t like Bitcoin,” he said. “They don’t like Bitcoin and have banned it because they can’t control it.”

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