▲ Rep. Kim Nam-kuk is seen inside the National Assembly building in Seoul on Aug. 24, 2023. (Yonhap)
▲ Rep. Kim Nam-kuk (R) attends a plenary session at the National Assembly in Seoul on Aug. 24, 2023. (Yonhap)

(2nd LD) ethics committee-cryptocurrency scandal

(2nd LD) Ethics subcommittee rejects motion to expel lawmaker over cryptocurrency scandal

(ATTN: UPDATES with more details in paras 5-10)

By Kang Jae-eun

SEOUL, Aug. 30 (Yonhap) -- A parliamentary ethics subcommittee on Wednesday voted down a motion to expel Rep. Kim Nam-kuk from the National Assembly over dubious cryptocurrency dealings.

The proposal was rejected in a 3-3 vote in the subcommittee divided evenly between the ruling People Power Party (PPP) and the main opposition Democratic Party (DP). A majority of support was needed for the motion's passage.

The vote was anonymous, but the three DP members on the subcommittee could have voted against kicking one of their former party members out of parliament. Kim quit the DP in May and became an independent after the scandal broke out.

The rejection also came after Kim declared last week that he will not run in next year's general elections, a move widely seen as aimed at seeking softer measures than expulsion that an advisory panel had recommended to the committee.

The first-term lawmaker came under fire following revelations that he had owned around 800,000 Wemix coins in 2021, worth around 6 billion won (US$4.5 million) at the time. Such a massive amount spurred suspicions about where the money came from and whether he used insider information.

Kim faced further criticism after he was found to have traded crypto coins multiple times while attending standing committee meetings. He left the main opposition DP and became an independent following the revelations.

Thursday's decision leaves the parliamentary ethics committee with two options.

It can start from scratch, reopen a plenary session and discuss an expulsion motion again or it can put to a vote a motion for lighter disciplinary action, within the same ethics subcommittee.

Under the ethics committee's four-tier disciplinary system -- which ranges from the lowest of warning to the highest of an expulsion -- the second-strongest penalty is a 30-day suspension from the National Assembly.

The PPP strongly criticized Thursday's rejection.

"We are skeptical whether it meets the eye level of people to hold a vote on a 30-day suspension" for Kim, said Rep. Lee Yang-soo from the PPP.

Rep. Song Ki-hun of the DP said expulsion was too harsh since the political rookie did not face any criminal charges and already expressed his willingness to leave politics next year.

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