Police clear Kim Nam-kuk of asset-underreporting allegations

Police have cleared Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Kim Nam-kuk of allegations that he underreported his assets, closing the case without referring it to prosecutors.

The Ansan Sangnok Police Station in Gyeonggi Province said Wednesday it had decided Monday not to forward the case against Kim to prosecutors on charges of violating the Public Official Election Act by making false public statements.

The allegations were first raised by Kim Seok-hun, a People Power Party candidate who ran against Kim in the Ansan-gap constituency during the most recent National Assembly by-election. Ahead of the vote, Kim Seok-hun held a press conference at the National Assembly on May 21 and filed a complaint with police, alleging that Kim had underreported his assets.

Citing Kim's past controversy over virtual asset trading, Kim Seok-hun alleged that Kim had sold virtual assets worth 5.3 billion won ($3.92 million) for 4.7 billion won between January and October 2022, yet omitted the proceeds from both his 2023 asset declaration and the one filed ahead of the by-election.

Kim Seok-hun also called on Kim to explain why his total declared assets stood at only about 960 million won in January this year and had fallen further to around 350 million won by May, just before the election.

Police launched an investigation following the complaint and examined two years' worth of asset changes — from December 2023, when an amendment to the Public Service Ethics Act made virtual asset registration mandatory for lawmakers and senior public officials, through last December, when Kim filed his asset declaration ahead of the by-election.

In the course of the investigation, police confirmed that Kim had reinvested the 4.7 billion won in proceeds from the virtual asset sales — the amount at the center of the omission allegations — into other virtual assets. Police concluded that the overall value of his holdings had declined sharply as those assets subsequently lost value.

Police also reviewed the findings of a 2023 investigation by the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office into what became known as the "Kim Nam-kuk coin scandal," in which Kim's large virtual asset holdings first came to light, before deciding not to refer the case.

Kim had consistently maintained that the allegations amounted to "a malicious framing that ignored the drop in assessed value due to falling market prices." The investigation found no significant evidence of wrongdoing, consistent with his account.

Kim had filed a counter-complaint against Kim Seok-hun on charges of violating the Public Official Election Act through false statements and of filing a false accusation. Police decided not to forward that case either, concluding that Kim Seok-hun had raised the allegations based on court rulings, media reports and asset declaration records, and that it was difficult to find that he had knowingly made false statements.

A police official said the decision also took into account the need to protect freedom of expression in the vetting of candidates during the electoral process.