Ruling party calls for ex-opposition lawmaker's permanent exit from politics

National 15:56 May 16, 2023

By Kim Han-joo

SEOUL, May 16 (Yonhap) -- The ruling People Power Party (PPP) on Tuesday urged former opposition lawmaker Kim Nam-kuk to permanently exit politics over his dubious cryptocurrency dealings, accusing him of evading responsibility by leaving his party.

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

"Rep. Kim should leave politics forever, not just temporarily," said Rep. Lee Chul-gyu, the PPP's secretary general. He further urged the DP to permanently expel Kim from the party to prevent his return to politics.

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.

Lee emphasized Kim should fully cooperate with the investigation instead of solely quitting the party to avoid accountability.

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.

The DP said the party had asked Kim to submit detailed data on his dealings as part of the party's own investigation of the allegations, but Kim quit the party without complying with the request.

"We have again requested Rep. Kim for data and cooperation, but have not yet received a response from him," DP spokesman Rep. Kim Han-kyu told reporters.