A forum will be held to discuss whether a proposed clause in the Digital Asset Basic Act (the second-phase virtual asset law) to restrict the equity holdings of major shareholders in virtual asset exchanges is appropriate from a constitutional perspective. The forum will feature not only law professors but also a former Constitutional Court justice.
According to the financial sector on the 18th, the Korean Constitutional Law Association will hold a seminar titled "Constitutional issues regarding limits on major shareholders' equity ratios in virtual asset exchanges" on the 25th at the FKI Conference Center in Yeouido, Seoul (formerly the Federation of Korean Industries building).
Earlier, the National Assembly Research Service determined that limiting major shareholders' equity "raises constitutional concerns related to property rights and the freedoms of occupation and corporate activity." As the constitutional controversy intensified, academia arranged the event to voice its views.
Former Constitutional Court Justice Lee Young-jin (Judicial Research and Training Institute class 22) will attend the seminar and serve as chair of the general discussion among constitutional law professors. While lawyers and law professors have expressed concerns about restricting major shareholders' equity, this is the first time a former Constitutional Court justice has stepped forward.
Born in Hongseong, South Chungcheong, Lee was appointed a judge in 1993 and served as a senior judge at the Jeonju District Court, a specialist member of the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee, and a senior judge at the Seoul High Court. Appointed a Constitutional Court justice in 2018 under Moon Jae-in's administration, Lee served the term through 2024. During the term, Lee also chaired the Constitutional Practice Research Society, an academic research group within the Constitutional Court. Lee is currently a distinguished professor at Sungkyunkwan University Law School and a senior counsel at the law firm Seonun.
Lee also offered the view that the emergency measures introduced by the Moon Jae-in administration in 2017–2018 to regulate the virtual asset industry infringed on the people's basic rights. At the time, to cool overheated speculation in virtual assets, the Moon Jae-in administration asked commercial banks to suspend the provision of virtual account services necessary for virtual asset transactions. Some investors then filed a constitutional complaint, saying, "The government's unilateral blocking of virtual asset transactions infringes on property rights, the right to pursue happiness, and the right to equality."
At the time, five of the nine Constitutional Court justices favored dismissal, and the case was dismissed. The view was that the emergency measures on virtual assets were step-by-step guidelines in the institutionalization process and not subject to a constitutional complaint. However, four justices, including Lee, said, "The emergency measures go beyond the limits of administrative guidance and have a considerably strong regulatory and binding character, making them an exercise of public authority subject to a constitutional complaint," and, "The emergency measures were issued without legal grounds, violating the principle of statutory reservation and infringing on the people's basic rights."
Members of the Constitutional Law Association expected to attend include law school professor Hwang Sung-gi, a former researcher at the Constitutional Court; Professor Kim Myung-sik of the Department of Public Talent Law at Chosun University; Professor Gye In-guk of the Graduate School of Public Administration at Korea University; and Professor Moon Ui-bin of the Department of Law at Kookmin University.