Over 400 South Korean officials disclose $9.8M in crypto holdings

South Korea's Ethics Commission recently revealed that high-ranking public officials hold an average of 35.1 million won ($24,000) in cryptocurrency assets. A report from March 27th indicated that over 20% of surveyed officials—411 out of 2,047—hold a collective 14.4 billion won ($9.8 million) in crypto. The largest disclosed holding belonged to Seoul City Councilor Kim Hye-young, totaling 1.76 billion won ($1.2 million). These holdings encompassed various cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), XRP, Dogecoin (DOGE), and Luna Classic (LUNC), among others.

This disclosure follows calls for greater transparency from Prime Minister Han Deok-soo, who stated in 2023 that high-ranking officials should include crypto assets in their property declarations, treating them similarly to precious metals. A bill mandating this was passed on May 25, 2023, granting public access to the crypto holdings of at least 5,800 officials starting in 2024. In June 2024, domestic crypto exchanges implemented systems to streamline the reporting process.

The impetus for this new law stemmed from the controversy surrounding South Korean lawmaker Kim Nam-kuk, who faced accusations of liquidating and concealing approximately $4.5 million in crypto assets before the implementation of the Financial Action Task Force's (FATF) "Travel Rule." Kim left the Democratic Party amidst the legal proceedings. While prosecutors sought a six-month prison sentence, Kim was ultimately acquitted due to a court ruling that crypto assets were not subject to public disclosure at the time of the transactions.