South Korea Passes Bill Mandating Lawmakers Disclose Crypto Assets

With this move, South Korea leap frogs the US and UK, both of which don’t require their high-ranking leaders to disclose crypto holdings

by James Cirrone /

May 25, 2023 12:28 pm

Alexey Struyskiy/Shutterstock modified by Blockworks

South Korea’s National Assembly unanimously passed a bill that will mandate lawmakers and other high-ranking government officials to declare their digital asset holdings.

Each of the 268 members of the unicameral body unanimously passed the Kim Nam-kuk Prevention Act, named after South Korean representative Kim Nam-kuk. This act was introduced following a scandal related to Kim’s undisclosed wemix token holdings. Kim subsequently became an independent lawmaker after his own party opened an investigation into his crypto trading practices.

According to local media reports, the bill, which successfully cleared a key committee on Monday, was passed with a recent amendment. This amendment mandates that current assembly members must disclose all digital assets acquired from the beginning of their term until May 31, by the end of June.

Traditional assets, such as cash, stocks and real estate, are already subject to similar disclosure laws in South Korea. Though, those types of assets need only be declared if they exceed 10 million South Korean won, lawmaker Chun Jae-soo said.

For crypto, every single coin will need to be reported because of unpredictable value fluctuations, Chun added.

The approved bill will need to be signed by the president, and it will become law after public promulgation, Blockworks previously reported.

If the bill in South Korea receives presidential approval, the country will surpass both the US and the UK in implementing disclosure reporting guidelines for cryptocurrencies. Notably, neither the US nor the UK currently require their lawmakers to disclose digital asset holdings

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