The top crypto holder among top South Korean officials is Kim Hye-young, a member of the Seoul Metropolitan Council, who holds crypto worth 1.7 billion won ($1.2 million)
This revelation comes as South Korea releases its crypto asset report for the second consecutive year, showing that senior government officials collectively hold 14.42 billion won ($9.83 million) in digital assets.
An asset disclosure report published by the Ethics Committee for government officials on March 27, 2025, showed 411 (20.1%) out of 2,047 officials owned cryptocurrency.
Notably, two out of 10 high-ranking public officials held virtual assets and the average holding per person was found to be 35.07 million won.
Kim Hye-young holds the most cryptocurrency among public officials
Kim Hye-young holds the most extensive cryptocurrency portfolio among reported South Korean officials, owning 16 different digital assets, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin, and XRP.Â
Her holdings include 0.00144591 Bitcoin, 0.01226935 Ethereum, 519,004 XRP, 472 Dogecoins in her name and 3,336 XRP held by her eldest son.Â
Her holdings far exceed those of other officials and, as such, make her the most prominent government figure in South Korea’s public-sector crypto scene.
Kim was followed by the second-highest crypto holder, Choi Min-gyu, a Seoul City Councilman, who reported digital assets worth 1.621 billion won ($1.104 million). His portfolio comprises millions of XRP tokens and Artidium and AD tokens holdings.
Third was Kim Ki-hwan, CEO of Busan-Ulsan Expressway Co., who declared virtual assets worth 1.426 billion won ($0.972 million). He invests in Luna Classic, Chaldeans, Horus Pay, and IOS Black tokens.
Other officials with significant cryptocurrency holdings include Kim Dae-hwan, Director-General of the Labor Development Foundation; Oh Mun-kyo, Dean of Police University; and Park Chun, President of Jeonju Education University. Their holdings in digital assets range from hundreds of millions to billions of won.
Although the number of officials holding cryptocurrency in South Korea is fairly high, the distribution is unbalanced. The top 10 holders control approximately 8.57266 billion won ($5.85 million), leaving 401 officials controlling less than $4 million of digital assets.
Government cracks down on crypto disclosures and exchange access
The declaration of public officials’ crypto holdings is in response to calls for transparency issued by South Korea’s prime minister.
Prime Minister Han Deok-soo held a news conference in 2023 announcing that high-ranking government officials must declare their cryptocurrency holdings and that  crypto assets should be treated like any other assets, like precious metals.
On 25 May 2023, South Korea approved the legislation requiring public officials to include crypto assets in public disclosures. From 2024, the new system gave South Koreans access to the crypto holdings of at least 5,800 public officials.
In June 2024, domestic cryptocurrency exchanges provided systems for holders of cryptocurrencies to easily register information about them.
The new law was introduced following a controversy involving South Korean lawmaker Kim Nam-kuk, who was accused of liquidating crypto assets and hiding approximately $4.5 million before the country implemented the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) “Travel Rule.”
At the height of the scandal, Kim left the Democratic Party to shield party members from the fallout.
Although prosecutors sought a six-month prison sentence, Kim was ultimately acquitted after a judge ruled that cryptocurrency assets were not required to be publicly disclosed at the time of his transactions.
South Korea cracks down on unregistered crypto exchanges with Google Play ban
Besides tougher disclosure rules, South Korean regulators have also moved to restrict access to unregistered overseas crypto exchanges operating in the country. The FIU of the Financial Services Commission (FSC) had asked Google Play to restrict access to 17 such exchanges servicing local users.
The action follows the FIU’s announcement on March 21 that it was taking steps against operators who did not report their activities under the country’s Specified Financial Information Act.
The FIU collaborated with the Korea Communications Standards Commission (KCSC) to determine the best plan to restrict access to these platforms. On March 26, the Financial Services Commission (FSC) released a list of 22 exchanges currently unregistered with them, of which 17 have already been blocked from the Google Play store.
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