The Ethics Commission of South Korea shows that public officials in top positions must reveal 35.1 million won ($24,000) worth of cryptocurrency assets when registering for work.
The Ethics Commission found cryptocurrency holdings in 20% of 2,047 public officials subject to disclosure rules resulting in 14.4 billion won ($9.8 million) combined assets. In the list of officials Seoul City Councilor Kim Hye-young stands out with 1.76 billion won ($1.2 million) in crypto assets.
According to published reports these public officials own multiple crypto types including Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Dogecoin (DOGE), and others such as XRP and Luna Classic (LUNC).
South Korea Tightens Oversight on Public Sector Crypto
The current requirements for transparency come from Prime Minister Han Deok-soo as more people ask for it. For 2023 Han insisted that government officials should list their cryptocurrency holdings just like standard possessions such as property and precious metals.
South Korea established rules on May 25, 2023 that made public officials reveal their crypto assets to the public. The government enforced this 2024 law that let people see digital asset reports held by 5,800 officials and strengthened their drive to prevent financial secrets.
South Korean cryptocurrency exchanges started new disclosure tools through their systems in June 2024 to simplify reporting requirements. The systems enable cryptos to be reported correctly to meet new legal requirements.
South Korean politicians introduced more transparent regulations after the Kim Nam-kuk corruption investigation. The legal authorities investigated Kim after he sold crypto assets and failed to report $4.5 million from FATF’s Travel Rule before its implementation.
To avoid harming political support the Democratic Party Kim Nam-kuk resigned from his position following the scandal. Prosecutors asked for a six-month imprisonment term but the court freed Kim when they realized crypto transactions did not need disclosure rules at that moment.
The incident boosted national discussions about cryptocurrency rules so legislators began developing faster strategies to include digital assets in their mandatory disclosure system.
South Korea now requires officials to report their digital asset investments in order to better control tokens in public sector hands. The government takes active steps concerning crypto disclosure because it aims to make government officials more accountable and reduce unethical conduct.
South Korea will closely monitor public official crypto holdings to protect trust and integrity in the country’s government structure.