Lee Yong-woo "Kim Nam-guk's fact-finding investigation virtually halted... No data submission and withdrawal from party"

Lee Yong-woo, a member of the Democratic Party and part of the fact-finding investigation team, revealed that the party-level investigation into Rep. Kim Nam-guk, who left the Democratic Party amid suspicions involving billions worth of cryptocurrency, has effectively been halted.

On the 18th, Lee stated on KBS's "Choi Kyung-young's Strong Current Affairs," "It is accurate to say that the investigation has effectively stopped. Cooperation from Rep. Kim is necessary to proceed with the investigation, but it is difficult to obtain his cooperation for a search and seizure," he said.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

He added, "We reviewed the transaction records of the virtual asset exchange together with Rep. Kim, but we requested data on the fluctuations of virtual assets at various points in time, major trading items, and investment returns. However, he left the party without submitting such data, conducted YouTube broadcasts, and then was subjected to a search and seizure, making further progress difficult," providing context.

After the Democratic Party decided the previous day to refer Rep. Kim to the National Assembly Ethics Committee, the matter has effectively been handed over to the Ethics Committee. When asked about the level of disciplinary action by the Ethics Committee, Lee said, "I think it should be decided internally by the Ethics Committee, but the fact that transactions were made during meetings is a serious violation of a lawmaker's duty of fidelity. The members will make their own judgment," adding, "All matters should be judged by politicians from the perspective of the public. (In Rep. Kim's case) it does not seem to meet the public's expectations."

The National Assembly also adopted a resolution the previous day for all lawmakers to voluntarily report their virtual asset holdings. Lee said, "This is a resolution to report holdings and changes since the start of the 21st National Assembly," adding, "Probably the Public Officials Ethics Act should be amended similarly; otherwise, we will continue to see situations where assets are sold off and then reported. Such measures need to be put in place."

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