'North Korea Coin Business Suspicion' Oh Se-hoon "Considering Request for Investigation if There Is a Problem"

At Seoul City National Audit, Mayor Oh stated, "We have not yet confirmed the facts regarding the extent of involvement during the previous mayor's term."

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon is giving a greeting at the National Assembly audit on Seoul held on the 12th at the Seoul City Hall Grand Conference Room in Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by the National Assembly Press Photographers Group

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon stated that he would consider requesting an investigation if there are any issues related to the late former Mayor Park Won-soon's North Korea cryptocurrency project.

Mayor Oh made this remark on the 12th during the National Assembly Public Administration and Security Committee’s Seoul City audit in response to a question from Jo Eun-hee, a member of the People Power Party. He said, "I was unaware of the North Korea cryptocurrency project until recent reports surfaced," adding, "At the working level, there have been no contacts with North Korea regarding the cryptocurrency." He further stated, "We have yet to verify the facts about the extent to which Seoul City was involved during the previous mayor’s administration."

The allegations of Seoul City’s involvement in the North Korea cryptocurrency project came to light after emails exchanged between Virgil Griffith and Erica Kang, CEO of CryptoSeoul, who was the business liaison in South Korea, were revealed. The emails reportedly mentioned that the Seoul Mayor and the Seongnam Mayor showed interest in North Korea’s cryptocurrency trading network.

In response, Assemblywoman Jo claimed that CryptoSeoul was selected as a blockchain consortium institution at the Seoul Startup Hub in 2019 and received 18 million won from a Seoul City-affiliated organization. She emphasized, "If the suspicions are true, it would constitute a violation of international law," and added, "If there are issues, it is a matter that requires a judicial investigation."

Additionally, Assemblywoman Jo called for an investigation into the use of Seoul City’s Inter-Korean Cooperation Fund. She asserted that former Mayor Park spent about 24.2 billion won from the fund, which is more than 15 times the amount spent in the previous five years. She said, "I am suspicious whether the Inter-Korean Cooperation Fund, which increased fifteenfold, was used appropriately," and stressed, "We need to thoroughly inspect whether the project costs were appropriate and if any funds were misused."

Mayor Oh responded, "Ultimately, the budget execution was ineffective as it resulted in missile and nuclear use," and added, "Currently, the Seoul City Audit Committee is conducting an audit of the entire Inter-Korean exchange and cooperation projects, and we will take appropriate measures once the results are out."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.