South Korean Parliament Approves Bill on Reporting Crypto Holdings

South Korea seems to be keen on asking high-level officials to reveal their cryptocurrency holdings, including Bitcoin, according to Cointelegraph.

The South Korean National Assembly passed a bill that obligates parliamentarians and high-level public officials to report their holdings of crypto after being approved by the lawmakers this week.

The bill also included amendments to the Public Service Ethics Act and National Assembly Act, which puts cryptocurrency on the list of registered property by lawmakers. While the Public Service Ethics Act asks the members of the National Assembly and high-level public officials to disclose their crypto holdings.

The new bill was initially anticipated to come into effect in December 2023 after a six-month grace period. But some lawmakers from the country’s lead party, People Power Party, saw that the legislation should be in force by July.

The draft law approval comes following a call by Prime Minister Han Deok-soo to disclose and register their cryptocurrency assets by high-level ranking public officials.

Also, the country has witnessed a major government scandal, in which a number of members of the National Assembly moved large amounts of cryptocurrency.

According to data aggregated from the crypto platform TripleA, it is estimated that 2 million people, 3.9% of South Korea’s total population, currently own cryptocurrency. South Korea is considered a crypto hotspot in Asia and home to cryptocurrency exchange giants.

TripleA data shows that 54% of the crypto users in South Korea are male, and 46% are female in 2021. Cryptocurrencies are seen as an investment tool for the country’s young generation.

The southeastern country planned to introduce a crypto-tracking system to combat money laundering initiatives and recover funds linked to criminal activities in 2023.