'Coin Allegations' Former Lawmaker Kim Nam-guk Indicted Without Detention for "False Asset Declaration"

Former Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Kim Nam-guk, who was embroiled in controversy over holding a large amount of cryptocurrency, has been indicted without detention.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 26th, the Financial Investigation Division 1 of the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Kim Su-hong) announced that Kim was indicted without detention on charges of obstruction of official duties by deception. Allegations of using undisclosed information and illegal receipt of cryptocurrency purchase funds, as well as violations of the Political Funds Act, were dismissed due to insufficient evidence.

Kim is accused of hiding the fact that he earned a large profit from cryptocurrency investments when reporting his assets as a member of the National Assembly in 2021 and 2022 by transferring part of the cryptocurrency account deposits to a bank deposit account to adjust the total amount of assets, while converting the remaining deposits into cryptocurrency, thereby obstructing the asset change review process conducted by the National Assembly Public Officials Ethics Committee.

The prosecution determined that Kim committed the crime to conceal the cryptocurrency deposits amounting to 9.9 billion KRW during the asset change report process for the previous year in February 2022.

As of December 31, 2020, Kim reported total assets of 1.18 billion KRW, including stocks worth 940 million KRW and deposits of 147 million KRW. The following year, he sold all his stocks and went "all-in" on cryptocurrency, holding 9.9 billion KRW in cryptocurrency deposits by the end of the year.

To hide this, on December 30, 2021, Kim transferred 950 million KRW of the 9.9 billion KRW deposits to a Nonghyup bank account as if it were proceeds from stock sales, and the next day, used the remaining 8.95 billion KRW to purchase cryptocurrency, reporting his total assets as 1.26 billion KRW, an increase of only 80 million KRW from the previous year.

In February last year, Kim reportedly used the same method to purchase the entire 990 million KRW cryptocurrency deposit when reporting asset changes. Article 12 of the Public Officials Ethics Act stipulates that "registered assets, their value, acquisition date, acquisition method, and income sources must not be falsely recorded in asset registration documents."

Previously, it was revealed that Kim held virtual currencies such as 'Wemix' worth up to 6 billion KRW, as well as 'Mavrex' and 'Bora,' raising suspicions about the source of investment funds and their usage.

The prosecution conducted raids last year on cryptocurrency exchanges Bithumb and Upbit, as well as Kakao's blockchain affiliates, investigating transaction records and fund flows, and summoned Kim for questioning for the first time on the 20th.

Kim voluntarily left the party amid conflict of interest controversies after it was revealed that he traded cryptocurrency during National Assembly standing committee meetings and proposed bills related to games and virtual assets, but rejoined the Democratic Party last May after one year.

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