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South Korean Officials Report Holdings in Bitcoin and Alternative Cryptocurrencies, Disclosures Indicate
New public disclosure data revealed on March 28 that several senior judges in South Korea possess Bitcoin, Ethereum, and various altcoins.
According to NoCut News, the judges’ asset holdings as of December 31, 2023, included BTC, ETH, XRP, and Solana.
Trading volumes on South Korea’s leading Upbit crypto exchange over the last two weeks. (Source: CoinGecko)
Details on South Korean Judges’ Initial Crypto Disclosures
A prolonged scandal known as Coin Gate emerged last year in South Korea, initially focusing on a lawmaker who allegedly sold coins after obtaining insider information regarding upcoming regulatory changes.
Since then, the scandal’s reach has broadened to include other lawmakers, as well as senior civil servants and prominent members of the judiciary.
This prompted the Supreme Court to mandate that senior judges must publicly disclose their cryptocurrency and other asset holdings annually to prevent potential conflicts of interest.
Judges are also required to include their spouses’ holdings and provide information about wallets registered in their children’s names.
Cheongju District Court Chief Justice Lim Byeong-ryeol reported the largest Bitcoin holdings, with Lim and his family declaring a total of BTC 9.92, including BTC 3.38 in wallets under his name.
The remaining BTC 6.54 is held by Lim’s spouse and eldest son in wallets registered in their names.
Additionally, Lim’s spouse and son reported smaller quantities of altcoins, including “Ethereum, Solana, and XRP,” in private wallets.
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Documents indicate that Seoul High Court Chief Justice Hwang Byeong-ha’s dependents also declared holding BTC 2.07.
Another Seoul High Court Chief Judge, Kim Bok-hyung, disclosed crypto assets valued at approximately $2,200.
Furthermore, Seoul Bankruptcy Court Chief Justice Ahn Byeong-wook and National Court Administration Deputy Director Bae Hyeong-won also indicated that wallets in their children’s names “contained crypto holdings.”
The children of Supreme Court Justices Roh Tae-ak, Kwon Young-jun, and Shin Sook-hee also reported ownership of cryptoassets, as noted by Joongang Ilbo.
Retail investors dump Tesla, snap up chip, Bitcoin ETFshttps://t.co/cWgy91U07z
— The Korea Times (@koreatimescokr) March 25, 2024
Judges Disclose Unlisted Stocks, Crypto, and Foreign Shares
Judges were also required to disclose their total assets, revealing that several hold unlisted domestic stocks and foreign equities.
The Bank of Korea warned a further slump in the real estate sector would undermine broader economic activity https://t.co/lEodSOifj6
— Bloomberg Markets (@markets) March 28, 2024
Senior judges in South Korea appeared particularly interested in blue-chip US stocks, with several declaring ownership of shares in companies such as Amazon, Apple, Tesla, and Nvidia.
Earlier this month, a South Korean law firm operator was sentenced to prison for misappropriating clients’ funds to invest in personal cryptocurrency ventures.
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