Kim Nam-guk Attempts to Overcome Coin Controversy... Even the Opposition Says "This Is a Bit Much"

Yeo Leadership Song Gap-seok "Is This Something to Be Proud Of?"
'Financial Expert' Lee Yong-woo "There Is Also Political Responsibility"
Jo Eung-cheon "No Words Even with Ten Mouths"

Kim Nam-guk, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea who is at the center of the '6 billion won coin' controversy, is trying to confront the issue head-on by emphasizing through social media (SNS) that 'there was no illegality.' However, even if there is no illegality, there is considerable criticism that investing in 'junk coins' itself is problematic for a politician. Even within the opposition party leadership, some have criticized Kim's attitude and called for an apology.

Song Gap-seok, a Supreme Council member of the Democratic Party, posted on his social media on the 9th a message titled "Kim Nam-guk, it is not something to be proud of to say there was no illegality or circumvention. You should be ashamed, reflect, and apologize," urging him to "stop actions that erode public trust in the Democratic Party through statements that stray from the essence and insufficient explanations."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the previous day, Kim revealed the source of his investment funds via SNS and emphasized that there was no illegality or conflict of interest. To Hong Joon-pyo, Mayor of Daegu, who criticized 'coin speculation,' Kim responded, "I have never invested in virtual currency with special activity funds," bringing up the past 'special activity funds controversy.' To ruling party spokespersons who pointed out the coin investment issue, he said, "Are Jeon Ju-hye and Yoo Sang-beom, spokespersons of the People Power Party, all pretending to be fools?" He also claimed that his 'coin controversy' was a product of the 'Han Dong-hoon prosecution.'

Song Gap-seok pointed out that Kim's attitude itself is problematic. He said, "Regarding Kim's coin holdings, there are numerous controversies such as whether there was illegality or circumvention, whether there was a conflict of interest, or whether he pretended to be an ordinary citizen. Many parts are incomprehensible to the public, and my fellow lawmakers and I feel the same." He added, "Nevertheless, instead of resolving suspicions, Kim raised allegations of personal information leaks, involved members of other parties, and made unnecessary remarks about staking something, which caused public disapproval."

Lee Yong-woo, a former CEO of Kakao Bank and a 'financial expert' in the Democratic Party, also criticized Kim's attitude on CBS's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show,' saying, "As a politician, I think (Kim) should not act like that. Because there is not only legal responsibility but also political responsibility."

The coin Kim invested in, called 'Wemix,' is a highly volatile 'junk coin,' and it should be considered that this coin's high volatility has trapped many investors in losses. Lee said, "In this case, due to the high volatility of coin investments, many young people have suffered losses. How much frustration must they have experienced?" He added, "Not empathizing with the pain of those people and saying there is no legal problem, so what's the big deal? I think that is not the attitude of a politician."

Democratic Party lawmaker Cho Eung-cheon also pointed out on SBS's 'Kim Tae-hyun's Political Show,' "Regardless, for a public official to engage in stock or especially coin investments, particularly in junk coins, to increase wealth is indefensible no matter how many mouths you have to speak. It is inappropriate."

Of course, within the opposition party, the defense that 'there is no legal problem' is still gaining traction. Jeong Cheong-rae, a Supreme Council member of the Democratic Party, mentioned on KBS's 'Choi Kyung-young's Strong Current Affairs' that the warrant for tracking Kim's account was dismissed, saying, "Warrants for account tracking are almost 100% issued, but this one was dismissed, which means there is no problem in the eyes of the court. So the matter is closed." He added, "If there was illegality, there should be punishment. But in the current situation, it seems there is no illegality."

Jeong also defended Kim regarding the 'conflict of interest' controversy, saying, "For example, if someone owns two or three houses or owns a house, and they make laws related to real estate, is that all a conflict of interest?"

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