"Virtual Assets Now Included in Public Officials' Asset Disclosure"... Kim Nam-guk's Prevention Bill Unanimously Passed in Plenary Session

Conflict of Interest Prevention: Members of the National Assembly Must Report Virtual Assets by Next Month
Resolution Passed for Voluntary Reporting of Virtual Assets

The Public Officials Ethics Act, which mandates virtual asset reporting for high-ranking public officials including members of the National Assembly, passed the plenary session on the 25th. The National Assembly Act, which requires members of the National Assembly to register their virtual asset holdings with the National Assembly Ethics Review Advisory Committee to prevent conflicts of interest, also cleared the plenary session.

On this day, the National Assembly held a plenary session and unanimously approved the Public Officials Ethics Act with all 268 members present voting in favor. The amended Public Officials Ethics Act requires reporting of virtual asset holdings during the asset declaration process. Considering the high volatility of virtual assets, unlike other asset registrations, no minimum threshold was set, meaning even assets valued at 1 won must be registered.

According to the amendment, virtual asset holdings will be included in the asset declaration process starting next year. The law will take effect in early December this year, and those subject to asset disclosure must report virtual asset transaction details from January 1 of this year onward.

The National Assembly Act, which includes virtual assets as a subject for preventing conflicts of interest among members of the National Assembly, was also unanimously passed by all 269 members present on the same day.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The amendment to the National Assembly Act requires members of the National Assembly to register their virtual asset holdings with the National Assembly Ethics Review Advisory Committee to prevent conflicts of interest. Applying special criteria, members of the 21st National Assembly must submit details of virtual assets acquired and held from the start of their term until the 31st of this month, along with any changes, to the Ethics Review Advisory Committee by the end of next month. Subsequently, the Ethics Review Advisory Committee must provide opinions related to conflicts of interest to the respective members and the floor leaders of their affiliated negotiation groups by the end of July.

These two laws were triggered by the controversy over the large-scale coin holdings of independent lawmaker Kim Nam-guk, who left the Democratic Party of Korea. Under the previous Public Officials Ethics Act, virtual assets were not used as a mandatory subject for asset disclosure, and it was revealed that Representative Kim held and traded large amounts of virtual assets. The controversy intensified as concerns were raised about potential conflicts of interest involving the related investment coins and the legislative process.

Meanwhile, on the same day, the National Assembly also passed a resolution recommending that all members of the 21st National Assembly voluntarily report their virtual assets and that the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission conduct an investigation.

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