| In this photo, lawmakers at the Public Administration and Security Committee hold a meeting in Seoul, May 10. Yonhap |
A parliamentary subcommittee on Monday passed a bill making cryptocurrency and other virtual assets subject to the annual asset disclosure of elected and high-ranking government officials.
The proposed revision to the Public Service Ethics Act, which passed through the Public Administration and Security Committee, came amid a cryptocurrency scandal involving now-independent lawmaker Kim Nam-kuk.
The first-term lawmaker, and a former member of the Democratic Party, has been under scrutiny following revelations he had owned around 800,000 Wemix coins in 2021, worth around 6 billion won ($4.5 million) at that time, a massive amount that does not fit his frugal image.
The assets were not included in Kim's disclosure of personal assets, because such assets are not required to be declared. Under Korean law, assets, such as cash, stocks, bonds, gold, jewelry, antiques and memberships, are subject to disclosure, while digital assets, like cryptocurrency, are not.
A series of lawmakers had proposed similar revisions, amid growing calls from the public for more transparency in public servants' holdings of virtual assets.
The revision is expected to go through the parliamentary legislation and judiciary committee on Wednesday, ahead of being tabled at a plenary session this week. (Yonhap)