"No Economic Benefits Received"...Wemade Employee Visits Lawmaker's Office, Reacts Strongly Waving Hands (Comprehensive)

Office, WEMADE Staff Open Meeting Room for Ruling and Opposition Lawmakers
"Explanation on Hearing Staff Circumstances After WEMIX Delisting"

The National Assembly Secretariat disclosed the entry records of a Wemade employee to the National Assembly in connection with allegations of legislative lobbying by independent lawmaker Kim Nam-guk. According to the Secretariat, the employee visited the offices of eight lawmakers from both ruling and opposition parties 14 times. Most of the offices explained that the visits were to receive explanations during the delisting of WEMIX and denied receiving any economic benefits or illicit requests.

Lee Kwang-jae, Secretary General of the National Assembly, revealed the details of the Wemade employee's visits at a press conference held at the National Assembly Communication Office that morning. According to the entry records disclosed by the Secretariat, the Wemade employee visited the offices of People Power Party lawmakers Yoon Chang-hyun, Jeong Hee-yong, and Heo Eun-ah, as well as Democratic Party lawmakers Yang Jeong-sook, Kim Han-gyu, Kim Jong-min, Oh Ki-hyung, and Kim Sung-joo from September 2020 to last April.

Kwang-jae Lee, Secretary General of the National Assembly Photo by Yonhap News

Regarding the purpose of the visits, Secretary General Lee stated, "It is impossible to confirm the reasons for the visits," adding, "Since these are simple entry records, it is not clear whether the employee met with the lawmaker, a secretary, or just borrowed the name." He further explained, "Usually, when a visit occurs, the office staff is contacted to confirm if a meeting was scheduled with a particular person, but sometimes the visitor may go to a different room, so it is impossible to verify."

On the disclosure, Lee said, "Recently, there have been multiple requests from lawmakers of both parties and various media outlets regarding the disclosure of Wemade's National Assembly entry records," adding, "When two fundamental rights?the public's right to know and personal information?conflict, overcoming this requires disclosure of entry records based on the resolution of the National Assembly Steering Committee. At the committee meeting held yesterday, the lawmakers decided to submit the entry records." He also mentioned that the press conference was agreed upon by the floor leaders of both parties.

Earlier, the National Assembly Steering Committee had resolved in a plenary session to disclose the entry records of the Wemade employee.

Wemade is a coin issuer involved in a controversy over an approximately 6 billion KRW investment by lawmaker Kim, and there have been suspicions in political circles that Wemade engaged in legislative lobbying targeting Kim and other politicians.

The offices of the lawmakers visited by the Wemade employee issued explanatory statements after conducting internal investigations. They stated that the meetings were with staff members, not lawmakers, to listen to current issues, and that no legislative lobbying took place.

Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Han-gyu stated via text notice regarding the Wemade employee's visit, "After WEMIX was delisted (on December 8 last year), the Wemade side, which issued WEMIX, visited our office to explain the circumstances and met with our staff," adding, "Since WEMIX was already delisted, there were no proposals or economic benefits offered by Wemade. Neither I nor any of my staff have invested in WEMIX."

Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Jong-min also explained, "A former staff member who worked for me received a request for a meeting with a Wemade representative regarding issues under the jurisdiction of the Political Affairs Committee and held a meeting with Wemade," adding, "Wemade explained the termination of WEMIX trading support last November to many related standing committee offices of both parties. This is completely unrelated to the legislative lobbying by Wemade mentioned in the media. None of my office staff, including myself, have invested in WEMIX or other virtual assets."

People Power Party lawmaker Yoon Chang-hyun explained to reporters, "It was understood as a routine company introduction, exchange of opinions with staff, discussion about the delisting of WEMIX, talking about the situation after the incident, and a normal greeting," adding, "The staff had no issues, and there was no strange meeting that was not recorded in the entry logs."

People Power Party lawmaker Heo Eun-ah stated on social media, "I have never met with Wemade nor traded coins," adding, "I confirmed with the staff and secretaries who worked in 2020, and they have no memory of meeting. The entry was made by the staff, and the specific facts are being investigated."

People Power Party lawmaker Jeong Hee-yong explained, "Regarding the visit of a Wemade employee to my office in October last year, I received a report that Wemade is involved in an intellectual property lawsuit in China and requested that a National Assembly member's petition to the Chinese court would be helpful," adding, "It was understood that the staff delivered the petition from the office." Jeong also said, "Neither I nor my staff have received any explanations related to virtual assets or any illicit requests from Wemade."

Democratic Party lawmaker Oh Ki-hyung explained, "A Wemade employee did visit. In November last year, regarding the delisting of WEMIX, one Wemade employee visited the office and explained to two staff members. The main topic was claims related to the delisting process," adding, "I was neither involved in nor participated in the meeting. There were no other proposals or economic benefits offered by Wemade or its affiliates beyond the explanation."

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