South Korea’s lead party wants crypto disclosure laws to apply earlier: Report

The proposed bill would require top government officials and lawmakers to declare all personal crypto holdings over $760.

A new bill mandating South Korean lawmakers and high-ranking government officials to declare their cryptocurrency holdings is expected to take effect within the next two months, said the floor leader of the country’s ruling party.

On May 23, the Korean publication Yonhap News reported that People Power Party’s Representative Yun Jae-ok said the scheduled date for introducing the new crypto declaration rules, currently slated for December, isn’t prompt enough.

Additionally, Yun Jae-ok said that the bill needs further revision and requires a new clause to bring the date of enforcement forward before it’s voted upon.

1/️ Today, South Korea National Assembly is discussing a crucial amendment to the ‘Public Official Ethics Act’. This would make it mandatory for public officials, including Senators, to declare their #crypto holdings.

— Tiger Research Inc. (@Tiger_Research_) May 23, 2023

“Given the current high level of public interest, especially regarding lawmakers, it’s not appropriate to enforce the law six months later after the promulgation,” Yun Jae-ok said.

The new bill is scheduled to be put to the floor for a vote on May 26.

Under current rules, South Korean government officials must report stocks, bonds, jewelry, gifted memberships and other holdings worth more than 1 million Korean won ($760) but no such disclosure is currently required for cryptocurrencies and digital assets.

The new bill was proposed in the wake of a major scandal involving government official Kim Nam-kuk, who was accused of liquidating more than $4 million worth of crypto assets before the country began enforcing its “Travel Rule” in March.

On May 15, Kim chose to step down from the opposing Democratic Party following the controversy.

On the same day of his resignation, South Korean authorities raided the offices of two local cryptocurrency exchanges, Upbit and Bithumb, as part of the investigations concerning Kim’s alleged financial misdealings.

Related: Korean lawmakers rally toward crypto rules in May after grisly murder case: Report

South Korean officials have expedited regulation concerning cryptocurrencies and related digital assets since the collapse of Do Kwon’s Terra ecosystem in May last year.

The most recent move from lawmakers has been the introduction of a wide-ranging new bill proposed in April that would seek to impose harsher penalties for crypto-related crimes with increased fines and sentences ranging from one year to life in prison.

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