The government has officially launched the cryptocurrency asset registration system for public officials, actively seeking collaboration with cryptocurrency businesses for this purpose. The Ministry of Personnel Management held a ‘Public Official Cryptocurrency Asset Declaration Field Meeting’ at the Digital Asset Exchange Alliance (DAXA) conference room in Seoul. Representatives from major domestic cryptocurrency exchanges, including Upbit, Bithumb Korea, Coinone, Korbit, and Streami, participated in the meeting to discuss cooperation strategies for the registration of public officials’ cryptocurrency assets.
Kim Seung-ho, the head of the Personnel Management Office, called for active cooperation from the cryptocurrency businesses, including the provision of public officials’ cryptocurrency holding information. He emphasized the commitment to closely collaborate with the businesses to ensure the successful operation of the cryptocurrency asset registration system. Consequently, the office plans to revise the Public Ethics Tracking System (PETI) to utilize the provided information about public officials’ cryptocurrency asset value and holdings during the property review process.
With the implementation of this system, public officials ranked 4th grade and above are required to declare the type, quantity, and value of their held cryptocurrencies in detail. Senior officials, classified as Grade 1 and above, are subject to stricter regulations and must submit their entire cryptocurrency transaction history for the past year, including the process of cryptocurrency asset formation. The Personnel Management Office will compare the initially reported contents with the data provided by the top 5 exchanges to deeply scrutinize issues such as excessive asset increases.
The government aims to enhance transparency in the public sector and establish public ethics through this system. Following the amendment of the Public Official Ethics Act Enforcement Decree last December, public officials subject to asset registration must comply with the relevant provisions. The PETI system will regularly publish the reported changes in assets, including cryptocurrencies, allowing citizens to transparently review the changes in public officials’ assets.
