South Korean lawmaker Kim Nam-kuk reportedly liquidated more than $4 million worth of cryptocurrencies before the country's lawmakers enforced the Financial Action Task Force's “travel rule.”
According to a May 8 report by The Korea Times, South Korean FIU authorities are investigating Kim's transactions in crypto assets worth approximately 6 billion won ($4.5 million) ahead of the country's introduction of the travel rule in March 2022. The la wmaker reportedly said that instead of cashing out the assets, he moved them to another exchange, also claiming that he was not required to report such activity. As a member of South Korea's National Assembly, Kim has some authority over digital asset-related laws, and he reportedly backed le gistation proposing to delay the 20 percent tax on crypto gains from 2023 to 2025. Kim reportedly denied any potential conflict of interest between handling and dealing with digital assets. crypto assets in his portfolio and adjust on them as a lawmaker.
"This is a serious moral hazard," said Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo. Postpone the taxation of cryptocurrencies, which could be seen as an abuse of his legal power to protect his private assets. "With Terraform Labs co-founder and former CEO Do Kwon a citizen of the Asian country, South Korea has been included in many after-the-fact reports of a 2022 cryptocurrency market crash. Following Kwon's arrest in Montenegro in March, South Korean authorities have reportedly been seeking his extradition beca use of the many crimes he is accused of affecting citizens of the country.
