A bill has been introduced in South Korea to require public officials to rule their investments in cryptocurrencies including bitcoin. This initiative pursues the recent controversies within the government regarding cryptocurrency regulations, embodying insider trading and market manipulation.
Also read: South Korea Urges 23 Powers, EU, and IMF to Collaborate on Curbing Crypto Trading
Bills for Public Officials to Assert Crypto Holdings
Chung Dong-yong, a member of the South Korean Public Assembly’s Administrative and Security Committee, has introduced a bill to add cryptocurrency holdings, such as bitcoin, ether, and riffle, to the list of public disclosure items, according to local media.
Chung Dong-yong.
He legitimatized that “the current Public Service Ethics law excludes cryptocurrency, which has recently evolved as a means of property proliferation,” Suwan News quoted him. The publication annexed that the legislation was jointly initiated by lawmakers Kwon Eun-hee, Car park Joo-hyun, Yoon Young-il, Lee Chan-yeol, Jang Jeong-sook, Chun Jung-bae, and Kim Doo-kwan.
The pecker amends the Public Service Ethics Act to require public officials to rule their cryptocurrency holdings of 10 million won or more (~USD$9,350). If the officials yield false or misleading information regarding their crypto possessions, Chung introduced a penalty and disciplinary action, Money Today detailed. The Hankyoreh then duplicated him saying:
As the government is taking the lead in cryptocurrency regulation, the public sector should apprehend the lead in transparently disclosing the property proliferation through cryptocurrency.
Just out Contention
Since the South Korean government announced its cryptocurrency regulatory reckons in December, there have been several controversies and signs of contention expanse officials.
The petition with 223,055 signers.
Multiple national appeal ti have been filed concerning crypto regulations including one titled “Has the government ever dreamed a happy dream for the people?” At the time of this handwriting, 223,055 people have signed this petition. According to the customs set by the Blue House, the government will respond to any petition with across 200,000 signers.
Recently, the lack of coordination among government sections led to the Ministry of Justice announcing that it is considering a cryptocurrency trading ban, attended by other Korean financial regulators distancing themselves from that view.
Last week, some employees of the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) were accused of insider transacting on knowledge of cryptocurrency regulations. The agency is currently investigating the case. Still, according to attorney Yang Ji Min, “there is no legal provision for punishment” since cryptocurrency is currently not a economic product, Yonhap reported.
Meanwhile, Representative Ha Tae-keung presented statement that the government’s 40-minute embargo procedure led to market manipulation, as word.Bitcoin.com previously reported. Ha suggested, “The government has to deal with the stop officer and find out who leaked it,” Korea Economic Daily quoted him. The Prime Delegate’s Office has denied any accusation of deliberate leakage of information.
The Hankyoreh referenced Chung asserting:
We need to investigate whether we have taken unfair profits and blurt out the status of our assets.
Do you think South Korean government officials should maintain to declare their cryptocurrency investments? Let us know in the comments section secondary to.
Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Korean government, and Chung Dong-yong.
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