Controversy Over 'Huge Coin' Kim Nam-guk... Will the Opposition's Fact-Finding Investigation Be Effective?

'Ongoing Controversy Over "Kim Nam-guk Coin" Allegations
Opposition Party: "We Will Examine All Allegations and Conflict of Interest Issues"'

Controversy continues as allegations arise that Kim Nam-guk, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, who is embroiled in a large-scale virtual currency investment scandal, owns a '28 billion won wallet' in addition to the initially reported '6 billion won' virtual currency wallet.

Initially, the FIU (Financial Intelligence Unit) had determined that there were 'suspicious transactions' involving approximately 850,000 WEMIX tokens (about 6 billion won) in an Upbit wallet. However, separate claims have emerged that Kim owns a KLIP wallet (KLIP is a wallet service provided by Kakao).

The virtual asset community 'Byeon Chang-ho Coin Academy' released an analysis on the 10th, identifying a wallet with the same creation date and balance as the virtual asset wallet announced by Kim, concluding it belonged to him. They found evidence of a large transfer of about 420,000 tokens, valued at up to 2.8 billion won at the time.

Kim's 'large coin holding controversy' is showing signs of spreading into a 'Coin Gate.' It is reported that Kim purchased a large amount of WEMIX, a lesser-known P2E (Play to Earn) coin, early last year. At that time, Lee Jae-myung, then the Democratic Party's presidential candidate, included the allowance of P2E games in his campaign promises, which was a positive factor for the related virtual currency industry. Additionally, allegations have been raised that Kim traded about 1 billion won worth of Netmarble's coin Mavrex just before its listing in April last year.

Kim Nam-guk, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea who is embroiled in ongoing controversy over owning Sangsangsan, is seen leaving his office at the National Assembly Members' Office Building on the afternoon of the 9th while responding to reporters' questions. Photo by Yonhap News

The People Power Party has raised the possibility of lobbying in the P2E game industry and called for a forced investigation. On the 12th, Yoon Jae-ok, the floor leader of the People Power Party, stated, "This is something ordinary citizens could never imagine, and the youth generation's anger and frustration over the unfairness and shamelessness are beyond words," adding, "While institutional issues are pointed out, Kim lies every time he tries to explain. The truth must be uncovered through investigation."

Kim has actively explained the related allegations, but additional suspicions continue to be raised repeatedly. Ultimately, Kim requested a party-level investigation, and the Democratic Party decided to form an investigative team including external experts to uncover the truth.

Kim Han-gyu, the Democratic Party's floor spokesperson, said on the 11th on YTN Radio's 'News King Park Ji-hoon' program, "Within the party, there are many opinions that all raised questions should be reviewed without exception," and added, "We will look into all parts that do not meet the public's expectations."

Regarding the joint proposal of a bill to defer taxation on virtual assets and the controversy over conflicts of interest related to the launch of the 'Lee Jae-myung Fund' utilizing non-fungible token (NFT) technology, he said, "It is an issue that needs to be examined from the perspective of whether it violates the law."

Meanwhile, there are also criticisms that the party-level investigation may lack effectiveness. On the 11th, Seong Il-jong, a member of the People Power Party, said on SBS Radio's 'Kim Tae-hyun's Political Show,' "What significance would an internal party investigation have?" and added, "The most important thing is that if the prosecution investigates, Kim should cooperate, and before that, he should clearly disclose transaction details and undergo verification."

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