Lawmaker ‘to Rejoin South Korea’s Biggest Political Party. The prominent politician involved in South Korea’s “Coin Gate” controversy is preparing to rejoin the Democratic Party, the largest political faction in the National Assembly.
Kim Nam-guk is expected to rejoin the Democratic Party (DP) by “early May,” according to iNews24. Right now, Kim is hanging out with a bunch of little parties that are allies of the Democratic Party (DP), known as the Democratic Alliance for Democracy Party. However, in a meeting on April 22, the Democratic Alliance for Democracy “unanimously decided” to merge with the DP.
Coin Gate Scandal MP Returns to Biggest Party?
The People’s Power Party (PPP), led by President Yoon Seok-yul, suffered a crushing loss in the April 10 General Election, and the DP’s recent victory will grant them a “large majority” in the Assembly.
But the news of Kim’s return to the DP won’t be good news for everyone. Last year, there was a lot of uproar over claims that Kim sold crypto assets while she was on a committee to create crypto rules.
The probes into Kim and other parliamentarians have sparked an ongoing stream of political debate around the ownership of cryptocurrency by MPs.
Kim was cut off from the DP due to the scandal. Lawmaker At some point, he decided he had had enough of the party and decided to join the alliance of lesser left-wing parties instead. The coalition, which came together in the run-up to the election, managed to secure fourteen seats for the National Assembly. Kim easily defeated his PPP opponent while running for the same seat in the Ansan Danwon constituency. Park Soon-ja, a candidate for the PPP, garnered less than 47% of the vote, while Kim herself received 51.32%.
‘No Obstacles’ Stand in Kim’s Way
Following the gathering, Yoon Young-Seok. Who is also the co-chair of the Democratic Alliance? Informed the press: According to Yoon Young-Seok, the National Election Commission had not. Lawmaker Yet gave their approval for the process. However, the co-chair stated that “the formal dissolution of the Democratic Alliance” would be the “result” if this process is problem-free. At first, Kim carried on with his responsibilities as an independent MP after he left the DP. In March, he informed his Facebook followers of his decision to join the alliance:
The question of whether Kim would be permitted to rejoin the DP was posed to Yoon Young-Seok by reporters. “Unless members of the alliance oppose the merger,” Yoon stated, this would indeed be the situation.
Scandal’s Fallout
The Coin Gate case prompted lawmakers to pass new laws that require high-ranking government officials and judges to declare their cryptocurrency holdings every year.
All cryptocurrency assets owned by public officials or members of their immediate families must be disclosed in the filings.
After the merger, the Democratic Party’s representation in the 300-seat legislature will increase from 142 to 156. The merger may also affect the huge and active crypto community in South Korea. The DP had promised to push for the approval of Bitcoin and altcoin spot ETFs by regulators if elected before the April 10 election.
Certain crypto supporters have questioned the DP’s intentions behind this promise. But early this year, authorities stated that they would give the issue more thought following the election.
