DP decides to refer Rep. Kim Nam-kuk to parliamentary ethics committee over cryptocurrency scandal

The main opposition Democratic Party (DP) decided Wednesday to refer Rep. Kim Nam-kuk, a former party member, to the parliamentary ethics committee over his dubious cryptocurrency dealings.

Kim departed from the DP earlier this week after revelations that he owned a significant amount of coins, fueling questions about the source of the funds and whether the independent lawmaker had access to insider information.

DP leader Lee Jae-myung and other members of the party’s leadership reached the decision to refer Kim to the Special Committee on Ethics, DP spokesman Rep. Park Sung-joon said, amid growing criticism that he is attempting to evade responsibility by simply leaving the party.

The first-term lawmaker has come under fire following revelations that he owned around 800,000 Wemix coins in 2021, worth around 6 billion won (US$4.5 million), a significant amount inconsistent with his frugal image.

The transactions were reported to the Financial Services Commission’s Financial Intelligence Unit, which classified the withdrawals as suspicious transactions and reported them to the prosecution.

On Monday, prosecutors raided two leading cryptocurrency exchanges, Upbit and Bithumb, as part of the investigation into the snowballing suspicions surrounding Kim.

Allegations further surfaced that the young lawmaker had traded cryptocurrency coins while attending at least two meetings of the judiciary committee of the National Assembly in May and November of last year.

“Rep. Kim admitted to trading coins during committee activities,” DP leader Lee was quoted by Park as saying, emphasizing the need to hold him accountable for violating the ethics code of a public official.

As the case was referred to the ethics committee, the DP plans to halt its own investigation.