Kim Nam-guk acquitted of charges over virtual asset investment concealment

Kim Nam-guk, a former member of the Democratic Party, was acquitted in the first trial on charges of filing false asset reports to hide virtual asset investment revenues estimated at 9.9 billion won on the 10th.

Judge Jeong Woo-yong of the 9th Criminal Division of the Southern Seoul District Court pronounced Kim not guilty of the charges of obstructing public duty by deceit from 2 p.m. that day.

Kim is accused of transferring part of the deposits in his virtual asset account just before the standard date (December 31 each year) during the 2021-2022 National Assembly asset declaration period to a bank deposits account in order to match the total asset aggregates similar to the previous year, and using the remaining deposits to purchase coins. This was allegedly done to interfere with the property change review work of the National Assembly's Committee on Ethics for Public Officials. Prosecutors believe Kim acted in this way to conceal the fact that he earned revenues estimated at 9.9 billion won from virtual asset investments.

In response, the first trial court noted, "At the time, virtual assets were not registered assets according to the Public Service Ethics Act," adding, "It is difficult to see that Kim had an obligation to register those assets." The court also stated, "Even if the National Assembly's Committee on Ethics for Public Officials could not accurately determine the actual total assets, it is not easy to see that its review authority was obstructed by deceit," concluding, "This is considered a case without criminal evidence."

However, the court remarked, "Kim used a large amount of deposits to hide the revenue from investments as stated in the indictment close to the declaration date of December 31, and there are parts that can be viewed as inadequate or inaccurate in the asset report."