Ha Tae-kyung: "How desperate must it be for the People Power Party to form a Kim Nam-guk TF"

As the People Power Party launched a task force (TF) to investigate the multi-billion coin allegations surrounding Kim Nam-guk, a lawmaker who left the Democratic Party, Rep. Ha Tae-kyung, a member of the TF, stated, "Since the Democratic Party has effectively given up, our party will at least make efforts to uncover the truth."

On the 16th, Rep. Ha said on MBC's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus' program, "If it were not serious, we wouldn't have launched this (task force) from the People Power Party."

Despite Kim's departure from the Democratic Party, the party maintains its stance to continue the investigation. However, since Kim's cooperation is essential for the inquiry, there are concerns about the limitations of the investigation.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

He pointed out, "If you look at Rep. Kim, it would be a lie to say he has been fully open. For example, just yesterday, he said it is impossible to disclose all his transaction details due to system limitations, but coin exchanges say they can provide all data with the individual's consent." He added, "Also, during the standing committee, he claimed his transactions were only worth a few thousand won, but it has been confirmed that they were worth tens of millions of won."

Despite Kim's explanations, there remain many unresolved suspicions. Rep. Ha suggested that in the case of coin 'airdrops' (free distributions), "if you complete a task, you receive free coins," implying there are no issues of lobbying or conflicts of interest.

However, he raised suspicions regarding conflicts of interest and lobbying related to P2E (Play to Earn) coins. He said, "According to experts who analyzed the lobbying, the most likely scenario is insider information. If someone buys coins just before listing, knowing when the listing will happen, the price jumps significantly at listing." He pointed out, "(The coins held by Rep. Kim) WEMIX and Mavrex are P2E game coins and NFT (non-fungible token) coins. Both were politically promoted. P2E had joint bills proposed, and NFT had promotional events with Lee Jae-myung, the party leader and presidential candidate."

He continued, "While it may be allowed policy-wise, if he holds such a large amount, it should not be involved. It is a conflict of interest and an ethical issue." He added, "If he profited using insider information and the company provided that information, it could also be a violation of the Political Funds Act. That is why the prosecution has conducted a search and seizure."

The People Power Party is launching a full-scale offensive on virtual currency issues, including adding cryptocurrency-related questions to the upcoming Supreme Council by-election candidate questionnaire. Rep. Ha said, "This will be the starting point for a full investigation. The party is probably considering a full investigation internally, and it has to be done anyway. There is no choice."

Rep. Ha emphasized that, unlike real estate, a full investigation of coins requires safeguards such as written pledges. He said, "Supplementary measures must precede, and after the ruling and opposition parties agree, (the full investigation should be conducted)." "Written pledges are important because (coin wallets) can be hidden. We must obtain pledges that they are willing to risk losing their seats as lawmakers (for this to happen)."

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