Ha Tae-kyung: "Kim Nam-guk Only Talks Nonsense Without Disclosing Coins... Let's Conduct a Full Investigation of Lawmakers"

Ha Tae-kyung Proposes Bipartisan Agreement on Comprehensive Coin Investigation
Kim Nam-guk: "Transparent Transactions Through Real-Name Verified Accounts"

On the 8th, Ha Tae-kyung, a member of the People Power Party, proposed conducting a full investigation and disclosure of cryptocurrencies held by members of the National Assembly in relation to Kim Nam-guk of the Democratic Party's '6 billion KRW cryptocurrency holding controversy.'

In an interview with YTN Radio's 'News King Park Ji-hoon,' Ha said, "If the ruling and opposition parties agree, those who do not disclose should be disciplined."

Ha pointed out, "The source of the coin funds, where the money initially came from to buy the coins, the current status, and why it was not reported during asset declaration if converted to cash remain unclear, which keeps the issue ongoing."

He added, "The important thing is that even though the coins are their own assets, members of the National Assembly are not disclosing them," emphasizing, "Wouldn't it be better for everyone to voluntarily disclose and for the National Assembly to conduct a full-scale investigation?"

Ha Tae-kyung, member of the People Power Party. [Photo by Yonhap News]

When the host pointed out that "under current law, public officials are not obligated to disclose virtual assets," Ha expressed concern, saying, "This leads to political distrust and the perception that 'all members of the National Assembly are thieves' could spread."

Ha criticized Kim, saying, "He keeps making excuses. He should transparently disclose where the money came from, how much he currently has, and how much he converted to cash, but instead, he keeps making strange statements without disclosure."

Kim was embroiled in allegations that he held cryptocurrencies worth about 6 billion KRW at market value and withdrew all of them in March last year, just before the presidential election and the implementation of the real-name system for cryptocurrency transactions. Earlier, in July 2021, it was revealed that Kim's name was on the list of lawmakers who proposed a bill to postpone virtual asset taxation, sparking controversy over the Conflict of Interest Prevention Act. There were even suspicions that he cashed out coins to contribute to the presidential campaign funds of Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party leader.

In response, Kim disclosed his bank ATM withdrawal statements from January to March last year on Facebook on the night of the 7th. He stated, "Some are fabricating absurd claims that I massively withdrew virtual assets and cashed them out before the Travel Rule (real-name system for coins) was implemented on March 25, 2022, and used them as presidential campaign funds," adding, "They are spreading baseless and ridiculous stories without any evidence."

Kim said that all cryptocurrency transactions were conducted transparently using only real-name verified accounts, and transaction details can be verified at exchanges. He also emphasized that co-sponsoring the bill to postpone virtual asset taxation does not constitute a conflict of interest.

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