- Kim Nam-guk allegedly hid 10 billion won in cryptocurrency assets.
- Prosecutors push for six-month sentence over false asset declarations.
- South Korea’s crypto tax delay fuels intense political and legal debate.
Prosecutors in South Korea are pushing for a six-month prison sentence for former lawmaker Kim Nam-guk. He allegedly concealed 10 billion won in digital assets during his property declarations in 2021 and 2022.
Prosecutors demand six-month prison sentence for Kim Nam-guk
Prosecutors have requested a six-month prison sentence for former South Korean lawmaker Kim Nam-guk. The prosecution team has accused Kim of obstructing the National Assembly Ethics Committee’s review of his property changes by concealing cryptocurrency assets.
Kim has been charged over his failure to declare substantial crypto holdings during the property declarations that he made in 2021 and 2022. The prosecutors stated that Kim concealed these assets to evade scrutiny thus he misrepresented his total financial worth.
Kim Nam-guk Faces Charges for Hiding 10 Billion Won in Crypto Assets
Kim Nam-guk has been accused of failure to report cryptocurrency assets worth around 9.9 billion won. In the said declaration made on September 16, 2021, Kim provided a total asset declaration of 1.2 billion won which is equal to $6.8 million, though he had a large amount of crypto holdings.
In 2022, Kim also failed to declare approximately 990 million won which is equal to $680,000 in crypto assets. The prosecutors accused Kim of transferring funds to a bank account to hide the source of his profits and falsify his asset declarations. Additionally, Kim converted the remaining crypto to assets which he declared as his total worth.
South Korea’s crypto tax delay fuels political instability and debate
South Korea has delayed the implementation of its long-awaited cryptocurrency tax law. The implementation of the tax law was previously set for 2025 but has now been postponed to 2027. The cryptocurrency tax law seeks to impose a 20% tax on cryptocurrency gains.
The delay has caused political tensions in South Korea especially with the ongoing dispute between the ruling and opposition parties. The opposition Democratic party has accused the government of using the crypto tax delay as a political tool. The lack of clarity in cryptocurrency regulation has increased the political and economic instability in South Korea.