Recent findings reveal that members of South Korea’s 21st National Assembly, since their term began in May 2020, have traded cryptocurrencies amounting to over 60 billion won in the past three years. Remarkably, about 90% of this trading volume is attributed to independent lawmaker Kim Nam-guk.
Out of all legislators, 18 were found to have held or traded cryptocurrencies during this period. The total cumulative amount purchased by these lawmakers reached 62.5 billion won ($48.17 million), while sales amounted to 63.1 billion won ($48.63 million).
Kim Nam-guk’s trading activities have particularly garnered attention. His cumulative purchase amount was 55.5 billion won ($42.77 million), and sales totaled 56.3 billion won ($43.39 million), accounting for 90% of all transactions made by lawmakers.
Furthermore, the size of cryptocurrency holdings among the legislators has significantly increased over their term. Initially, in May 2020, 8 lawmakers held about 170 million won ($131,000) in cryptocurrencies, which has surged more than fivefold to 920 million won ($709,000) held by 17 lawmakers as of May 2021.
Kim Nam-guk initially held cryptocurrencies worth 140 million won ($107,900) at the start of the term, which grew sixfold to 840 million won ($647,400) by May. Other lawmakers also saw substantial gains, with the highest profit being 83 million won ($64,000), though the largest loss recorded was 150 million won ($115,600).
