'Coin Controversy' Kim Nam-guk Announces Party Resignation... "I Will Reveal the Truth as an Independent" (Comprehensive)

Decision to Leave the Party 9 Days After Controversy
"Will Resist Unfair Political Attacks as an Independent Lawmaker"
Party-Level Investigation Expected to Be Halted

Kim Nam-guk, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea embroiled in controversy over holding a large amount of virtual assets, announced his sudden withdrawal from the party on the 14th.

On the morning of the same day, Kim stated on Facebook, "Today, I am temporarily leaving the beloved Democratic Party. I judged that it is no longer right to burden the party and its members," revealing his decision.

He continued, "I believe that no harm should be caused to the party during this important time," and emphasized, "As an independent lawmaker going forward, I will stand firm against unfair political attacks and uncover the truth."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

He said, "In the past week, media reports based on false information have poured out. I will thoroughly hold them legally accountable and firmly confront them," adding, "Although I am temporarily leaving the Democratic Party, I will always support and be with the party."

The withdrawal came nine days after media reports sparked controversy by revealing that Kim had held up to 6 billion won worth of 'Wemix' coins, a type of cryptocurrency. It is known that Kim made this decision after discussing countermeasures with party members from his constituency (Danwon-gu B, Ansan-si, Gyeonggi Province) the day before.

Until now, Kim had explained, "There was no illegal activity, and the asset declaration was properly completed," but the controversy continued. His co-sponsorship of the 'Income Tax Act Amendment' to postpone virtual asset income taxation by one year and his planning and launching of the 'Lee Jae-myung Fund' using non-fungible tokens (NFTs) ahead of last February's presidential election also came under scrutiny.

Moreover, suspicions arose that he conducted cryptocurrency transactions even during the full meeting of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, which included the confirmation hearing of Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon and a briefing on the Itaewon disaster, prompting Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party leader, to order an ethics inspection of Kim.

Meanwhile, with Kim's withdrawal from the party, it appears that party-level fact-finding investigations and ethics inspections will be halted, as the Democratic Party loses the authority to internally investigate an independent lawmaker.

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