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South Korea Probes Crypto Exchanges Upbit, Bithumb on Ex-Lawmaker's Transfers
Lawmaker Kim Nam-kuk resigned from the main opposition party after his crypto transfers incited controversy.
By Lavender Au
Updated May 15, 2023, 1:20 p.m. Published May 15, 2023, 1:20 p.m.
South Korean prosecutors searched accounts at major exchanges Upbit and Bithumb, relating to the transfers made by former lawmaker Kim Nam-kuk on Monday.
Messaging app Kakao was also included in the search due to Kim using its Klip cryptocurrency wallet, according to CoinDesk Korea.
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Since last week, Rep. Kim Nam-kuk of the Democratic Party of Korea has been embroiled in accusations of conflict of interest over cryptocurrency withdrawals he made in 2022.
Kim also faces accusations that he was trading coins during meetings of the National Assembly's judiciary committee in May and November last year, a CoinDesk Korea report said. The lawmaker presented himself as a frugal politician while owning 800,000 WEMIX tokens, worth 6 billion won ($4.5 million) between January and February 2022.
The ruling People Power Party said that it would launch an internal task force to investigate Kim's cryptocurrency transfers on Monday. Rep. Yun Chang-hyeon, who heads the special committee on digital assets will head the task force, along with Rep. Kim Sung-won.
Kim resigned from the main opposition Democratic Party on Sunday.
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The Republican lawmaker who is among the core negotiators on the U.S. market structure bill said the White House has rejected some ethics language.
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- Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) said she is negotiating with the White House on behalf of Senate Democrats trying to insert ethics provisions into Congress' market structure legislation.
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