South Koreaโs National Assembly has officially passed a bill into law requiring lawmakers and high-ranking Government officials to disclose their cryptocurrency investment holdings.ย
The new law is a response to a recent scandal involving a politician allegedly violating campaign finance laws using cryptocurrency.ย
The โKim Nam-guk Prevention Lawโ
Reportsย by a report from local news agency News1, the relevant amendments to the National Assembly Act and Public Service Ethics Act passed unanimously on May 22 between all lawmakers present for each, with 269 votes and 268 votes respectively.ย
The National Assembly Act amendment puts digitalย currency on the list of lawmakersโ registered properties and โprivate interests.โ Inย theย meantime, the amendment to the Public Officials Ethics Act passed the Public Administration and Security Committee on the same day, making both high-ranking officials and National Assembly members must register their holdings.ย
The bill was originally scheduled for implementation in December but was fast-tracked to theseย 30ย days after the conservative People Power Partyโs newly elected leader, Rep. Yun Jae-ok, stated the previous date was โ asย well late.โ
โGiven theย present highย degree of interestย ofย theย public, especially regarding lawmakers, itโs not appropriate to enforce the law 6 months thereafter after the promulgation,โ stated the party leader pastย week, while proposing a fast-tracked version of the bill last week.ย
The โpublic interestโ refers to a high-profile scandal surrounding Kim Nam-guk โ who was alleged to have cashed out $4.5 Million in digitalย currency at Wemix exchange early aย yearย ago. The same lawmaker backed legislation in 2022 to defer a law implementing a 20 percent financialย resources profits tax on digitalย currencies from 2023 to 2025, though heโs rejected there being any conflicts of interest.ย
Nevertheless, the revelations invited investigations into the previous Democratic Party lawmaker for suspected campaign finance violations, tax portals, and criminal possession of crypto.ย
Which Politicians Hold Cryptocurrency in America?
Lawmakers in theย Unitedย States are already required to disclose their cryptocurrency and Bitcoinย (BTC) holdings, between whom only a small number hold any digital assets. Senator Cynthia Lummis revealed in 2021 that she owns 5 Bitcoin โ 3 of which she purchased for just $300.ย
Senator Ted Cruz has likewise confessed to owning a little greaterย than 2 BTC, respecting the investment as a longstanding inflation hedge and decentralized governance. Theย previousย 30ย days, he stated that he has a standing order to buy more Bitcoinย (BTC) every Monday morning.ย
โI like Bitcoinย (BTC) for the same reason that the Chinese communist Government doesnโt like bitcoin,โ he stated. โThey doย not like Bitcoinย (BTC), and they banned it because they canโt control it.โย
