[Opinion] Kim Nam-guk Aiming for a Quick Fortune... Did He Choose the Wrong Career?

I invested in stocks during the period when the stock market was rising after the COVID-19 crisis. However, as the U.S. began raising interest rates, the previously upward-trending market became extremely volatile. With recession forecasts continuing, I found myself constantly checking the stock trading window whenever I wanted to sell. As someone trying to focus on their own work, this made me feel scattered and led to a sense of self-doubt about what I was doing. Realizing this was untenable, I eventually cut my losses and sold off my stocks. As a freelance professional, such situations remain personal issues for me. But the case of Kim Nam-guk, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, is entirely different. If a public official, a member of the National Assembly, engaged in cryptocurrency trading during parliamentary sessions, it is clearly a matter that demands accountability.

The cryptocurrency trading behavior of Representative Kim revealed so far is astonishing. Video footage captured evidence that he was trading cryptocurrencies even during the National Assembly Judiciary Committee meeting discussing the Itaewon tragedy last year. At that time, Kim repeatedly questioned Minister of Justice Han Dong-hoon about the government's responsibility for the disaster, then stepped out of the meeting room to trade cryptocurrencies, and returned again. It was also found that he continuously traded cryptocurrencies during the national mourning period immediately following the Itaewon tragedy. Meanwhile, he expressed words of anger about the tragedy, which turned out to be insincere and hollow rhetoric. The same pattern was observed during Minister Han Dong-hoon's confirmation hearing and the Judiciary Committee subcommittee meetings. It is presumed that Kim engaged in ‘day trading’ during meetings because he was gambling on newly launched ‘junk coins,’ investing tens of billions of won in a high-risk ‘all-in’ manner, aiming for short-term price fluctuations. Some even suspect connections with market manipulation groups. Representative Cho Eung-cheon’s realistic criticism that “If the price rises, endorphins will cause excitement, and if it falls, worries will lead to discouragement, making it impossible to properly perform duties” is well-founded.

In Book 2 of Plato’s Republic, there is the story of the ‘Ring of Gyges.’ Gyges, a shepherd from Lydia, finds a ring on the corpse of a giant inside a cave. He discovers that turning the ring inward makes him invisible, while turning it outward makes him visible again. Using this ring, Gyges commits adultery with the queen and assassinates King Candaules to seize the throne. Glaucon tells Socrates, “In such a case, it seems no one would be able to maintain such a steadfast mind as to remain just and refrain from touching what belongs to others.” This implies that if humans are in a place where no one sees them and they bear no responsibility for their actions, everyone would behave immorally like Gyges. Even so, it is hard to avoid viewing as hypocritical the fact that a politician who once claimed to be frugal by wearing worn-out sneakers engaged in cryptocurrency trading worth tens of billions of won during parliamentary sessions.

Representative Kim has maintained the position that “there is no illegality or wrongdoing.” This resembles the scene during former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk’s confirmation hearing when he refused to resign, insisting “there is no illegality” amid controversies over his children’s admission scandals. As Kim was at the forefront of ‘defending Cho Kuk,’ his focus on legality over the harsh public gaze is evident. If someone needs to trade cryptocurrencies during parliamentary sessions, it would be more fitting for them to be a cryptocurrency investor chasing quick fortunes. Whether there was any illegality should be determined through future prosecutorial investigations, but if one has chosen the wrong profession as a member of the National Assembly, returning to a position better suited to oneself is the right path for both the individual and the country. This issue cannot be resolved merely by Kim leaving the Democratic Party of Korea.

Yu Chang-seon, Political Commentator

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