Anti-Corruption Commission to investigate lawmakers' virtual asset

As South Korea’s Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission embarked on an exhaustive investigation into lawmakers’ virtual asset holdings, reports emerged that the Commission sent a revised personal information consent form to the National Assembly, excluding spouses and children from the investigation. Initially, the Commission had sent a consent form that included spouses and lineal ascendants and descendants. Still, due to resistance from some lawmakers, the scope of the investigation was narrowed to focus only on the lawmakers themselves.

A prominent official from the ruling People Power Party revealed that the National Assembly received the new consent form from the Commission, which excluded spouses and lineal ascendants and descendants from the investigation’s scope. So far, 90 lawmakers have provided their consent, and the remaining consent forms are expected to be collected within this week. The People Power Party’s spokesman, Jang Dong-hyuk, met with reporters on Wednesday and questioned the necessity of seeking consent even from spouses and family members, even though they are not legally obligated.

On May 25, the National Assembly adopted a resolution during the plenary session, urging all its members to voluntarily report their virtual asset holdings and consent to the Commission’s investigation into virtual asset acquisition, transactions, and disposition of the National Assembly lawmakers. The People Power Party, under the premise of reaching an agreement with the opposition parties, decided to submit consent forms to the Commission. However, the consent forms have not been submitted 70 days after the adoption of the resolution.

In contrast, the Democratic Party of Korea appears willing to cooperate with the exhaustive investigation into its National Assembly members. A key official from the Democratic Party stated that they have no objections to submitting consent forms to the Committee, as they had already collected such consent forms from their lawmakers in June about the investigation into virtual asset holdings and transactions solely involving lawmakers themselves.


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