South Korean high-ranking officials will be required to disclose their cryptocurrency holdings starting in 2024.
- About 5,800 officials will be affected by this measure.
- This initiative aims to strengthen transparency and ethics within the government.
New policy for South Korean high-ranking officials
Starting in 2024, South Korea will implement a policy requiring the country’s high-ranking officials to publicly disclose their cryptocurrency holdings.
This decision, announced by the Ministry of Personnel Management, is part of the government’s “Public Ethics and Transparency” initiative. In total, nearly 5,800 officials will be required to declare their cryptocurrency holdings, which will be accessible to the public.
The transparency of public service is expected to further enhance through the implementation of an integrated public disclosure service and the registration of virtual assets”
– the South Korean government said
This measure follows the adoption of two bills in May, which included cryptocurrency assets in the annual asset declarations required for elected officials and high-ranking officials. The objective is to increase transparency and integrity in public service.
A system designed to facilitate asset disclosure
To facilitate this disclosure, five major South Korean cryptocurrency exchanges, including Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit, and Gopax, will develop specific information systems by June 2024.
These systems will simplify the registration of information related to cryptocurrency holdings. This initiative follows an incident involving a member of the Democratic Party, Kim Nam-kuk, who was criticized for holding Wemix tokens worth $4.5 million.
This incident raised concerns about conflicts of interest and the use of privileged information, leading to the amendment of the “National Assembly Act” and the “Public Service Ethics Act”, ordering officials to disclose their cryptocurrencies.
